Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Rings
by Clair Aragon
Summary: "If I get to be a Pokemon," I bribed. I WAS BRIBING GOD NOW! - The world is struck by legendaries crashing. Instead of saving the lives of others, they're destroying the very lives they promised Arceus to protect! Arceus senses what he has to do, but he can't leave his realm. He uses a human to do his bidding, because mew got corrupted. OS. Fluffy. Switching first person!
1. Prologue

**Hi~! My name is Clair Aragon, and I'm proud to meet you! This is a mystery dungeon story, and if you don't know or haven't played any of the mystery dungeon games in the Pokémon franchise this story still CAN BE READ. Just you may find a few minor things different. To sum up the basics, a human is sent to the Pokémon world to save it in some epic story line! Cool, huh?**

**Uh, this for a warning, this is a romance, so if you don't like blushing, cuddling, and nose licking, then this adorable story isn't for you. Sorry. :( But on the contrast, this story is sometimes serious at certain times. Please give me reviews/feedback on the story.**

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**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Rings**

**Prologue**

**Chleo's PoV**

The room with a black, an opaque mist filling the dark void. A misty dust scattered through the darkness. No stars or the moon was visible in the abyss. The void wasn't dim like in the night sky, but a consistent, vibrant blackness. _Where am I? _My stomach churned, aching with anxiety.

A wailing uncertainty compelled me into the darkness. I fidgeted as I walked forward, soon shouting, "Hello!" My voice slowly echoed in the mist, loudly protruding through the stillness.

_Nobody answered._

"C'mon mind, stop playing tricks on me!"

I heard an echo in the distance, "This isn't a trick, child, it's merely an illusion." Its voice shocked my core. I put my hand on my heart to feel it racing, thumping vapidly without any beat. Scared out of my wits, I tried to run away only to find more endless darkness.

"Uh-huh." I gave an interested nod, terrified, but I kept my composure. "Right. And who are you?"

"I am God."

"God? Psst. I have some crazy dreams," I muttered, still scared. It felt surreal. "Hey, where's your angels! Your bleak whiteness, oh holiness?" I couldn't hide my smirk.

His voice remained mildly calm. "Gone."

My mind raced by the word. _I don't understand. _"What do you mean _gone?_"

"They were stolen." He sounded unamused.

"Okay..." I rose my head like _'is that all you're going to say?'_

"I was trick by Darkrai. He took everything from me. You must save the world by returning my stuff."

"Oh. My. God." I grasped a long-lasting breath. "You're Him. Arceus, right?!"

"Yes, child, yes." He came out of the shadows. His face had a nasty frown, unsatisfied to my presence. His gold light on his back shimmered in the darkness. My mind scream wildly at the sight. _Was this the true, the one and only! Was this God!_

_Yep, my dreams were officially the best now. _My heart began to slow a bit knowing that I wasn't in danger. "Not to be rude, but why can't you get your stuff back yourself?"

"I can't be on any realm besides this one without destroying it."

"Huh? Okay, let me get this straight, instead of sending a Pokémon from the 'Pokémon World' you're sending a human to do your bidding."

"Yeah, mew got corrupted," he said, nonchalantly.

"Oh God, not Mew! Oh wait, I didn't me to offend-"

"No, it's okay if you help me." He said with a small smile, or was that a smirk, I couldn't tell.

I rolled my eyes. "If I get to be a Pokémon," I bribed. _I was bribing GOD...is that even a thing!? Is now._

"You will, but I decide which," he leveled with me.

"Yay!" My heart started to race in glee, but then I realized... "How do I know this isn't a dream? How can I _believe_ you?"

"I am God."

A silence beckoned me closer into the blackness. Shining in my eyes, the black turned white. _Where was I going? What Pokémon will I be?_ My mind was thrilled with the idea, but soon I became overly dizzy and uncertain if this was the right idea. _What about my friends and family?_ I didn't really have many friends, but they were still there for me when I needed them most, and oh god, my parents, what will they think by me going to this world and never returning!

"I see your concerns, child, they will be safe," Arceus said. "Just give me the rings back!" My sight became blurry. Golden sparkles jutted from Arceus and was it my imagination or did he turn black for an instant.

Suddenly, everything turned dark.

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**That my friends is the end of the prologue. Sadly... But my chapters are much longer than this, I promise! If anyone wants to beta read this story, I'd be happy for the help, just PM or review me anytime with an account.**

**So, what Pokémon do you think our main character, Chleo, will be? Leave your comments in the reviews.**


	2. Chapter 1: World Without Arceus

**Chapter 1: World Without Arceus**

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I felt a rough, dry, yet juicy substance against my tongue. Something soft and warm rubbed my ribs. When my eyes started blinking, a yelp surprised me, "Are you okay!" claimed a voice I never heard.

"Huh?" I stood up groggily. My eyes were lower to the ground; my legs were on all fours; my legs were covered with red fur... "I'm a Vulpix!" I bounced for joy. "Yes, I'm not a Voltorb or Unown!"

Suddenly, I realized there was a Pokémon in front of me giving me a very awkward, crazy-like look. "Uh..." he spoke softly.

My ears perked. _Holy crap, I have pointy elf ears!_ I wiggled the fiery ears in awe. The only think I could see is the brown inside of them. I shook my whole body when I stood up. I found my tails wagging out of control brushing back and forth against each other. _Neat!_ I yawned and stretched my whole body out like a dog after a long nap. A few of my bones popped. "Oh god, that feels so good!" I said, a slight wisp in my voice. "Oh, sorry! I'm not crazy! I promise!"

"You're the definition of crazy," he pronounced, unpleased. His mouth was so cute frowning.

"Am not!" I barked. I stared at his orange and black stripes; his white mane; his adorable dog nose. "You're a Growlithe!"

"How's that prove you're not crazy?" his voice was high-pitched, quiet, and slightly mellow but concerned.

"Hey, hey, we just started off on the wrong foot," I gave an awkward smiled, unsure if I should had said anything at all. I lifted my paw. "My name is Chleo."

He gave me a skeptical look. "My name is Connor."

Baffled, I put my paw back on the ground. "Sorry, um..." _Well, this is awkward..._

My body felt warmer than a forest fire raging inside of me. _Ugh, I don't feel so good. _I imagined bright coal in the bottom of my stomach, slowly rising to my head. I became dizzier by the second. I looked to see Connor smiling at me. He was bowing his head shyly. _Keep your cool. _"U-uh..." Connor stumbled his speech. "D-do you go to Nidoking's Guild in Sunset Village?"

"No, I'm sorry. Is that where you are from?" I said, hoping so. _Being part of a guild would be so cool! _Slowly the flames inside me subsided. It was going to take a while getting used to this.

His eyes widened and said with a parched tone, "Can you join the Guild with me as my partner?"

"I dunno..." I trailed my thinking. What about my _supposed_ mission from Arceus himself?

"Please, Chleo!" his hazel eyes started to glow.

_Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. Maybe it'll help me figure it out. This Growlithe was friendly enough._ I nodded, "Sure!"

"Really!" He smiled so happily. "Great!"

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As I followed him to the Guild, I trailed far behind him, trying to keep pace. Moving on four legs was...difficult. The land underneath me was covered in a thin layer of ash. The grass and weeds were new and strange to me. We were in a safari with large savanna trees off in the distance. They didn't sway with the wind. Obnoxiously, they stayed eerily still in the silence.

Connor back-tracked multiple times to come back for me. I apologized and thank him each time. Connor's body language left me baffled. He was never angry at me for being slow, he simply trotted beside me. As I stumbled across the grassland, I saw Ponytas roaming with the Buffolants.

"Hey, how come the ponytas don't light fire to the dry grass?" I wondered aloud.

"They need to the grassland for food, so if you look close enough, their tails don't come nearly close enough to the ground." He said matter-of-factly.

"That's neat!"

"You are an odd one, that's for sure," Connor said.

I shrugged, not saying anything. Abruptly, I turned to him and asked, "Do you know of a Pokémon named Arceus?"

He took a step back, then laughed. "You're kidding, right? You don't think he actually exist, do you?"

I shook my head, facing my head to the white, ashy ground. _This is all so confusing. He sent me here, didn't he? _"Who made Dialga and Palkia, then?"

He tilted his head and sighed, "You're not from here, are you?"

I shook my head.

He sat next to me with sincerity. "Look..." he bowed his head. "All hope is lost. Everyone knows it. The legendries used to keep the calamity, but now... They wreak havoc throughout the world-"

"This place doesn't seem _that_ bad."

His face grew grim. "This place used to be a thick forest. Feel the ground underneath you."

"Yea, there's ash and a burnt smell..." The ash was white, yet tar-like. The smell was foul, like sulfur thrown into a fire and left to rot. I started to miss soil.

"A volcano near here erupts every few moons or so, when, from what my parents said never used to erupt at all. It killed all life around here that used to thrive. Now fire types, like you and me are mainly found here."

My eyes widened. _Was that true? That was so sad..._

"S-so...where are you from?" he stuttered.

I shook my head to regain thought. "Um..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he murmured. Sluggishly, I agreed with him and didn't say where I was from or anything about my life, though I wanted to, because I missed my old friends and wanted to make new ones that believed and trusted me again. But they were gone now. My parents were my whole world to me. I can't change it now, but why Arceus picked a farmer like me baffles me. But what was I supposed to say?_ Yea, I'm from the human world sent by God to help save you!_ I'd love to see his response to that.

"So, what level are you?"

"I dunno." I blurted.

He reached his around me, sliding down my fur. It ran shivers down my spine, but it felt good... "What are you do- Ow!" He plucked a hair from my skin. "What was that for?!"

Oddly, he began inspecting each hair, and suddenly snapped it. "You're only level 5!" he shouted, shocked, his sparkling canine teeth tucked beneath his gums.

I nodded. _Arceus started me at the beginning. Great._ "You figured that out how?"

"If your hairs are easy break you're a lower level than if were a higher level, and if you were higher than me, I wouldn't be able to break it," he explained.

"Cool!" I exclaimed. "So, what level are you?"

"Only 14," he said discouraged, bowing his fluffy red head to the ground. "Sorry for acting surprised even though I'm not much higher than you."

"Hey, it's cool. Thank you for waking me up earlier by the way." I giggled.

"It was nothing. I couldn't just leave you there." He paused, then continued after concentrating my eyes. "Once you woke up, I could see within your eyes you had a good soul; I did a good deed."

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**Chapter ends here. Thanks for reading! If anyone wants an OC added to this story that's a Pokémon, I'll try to add it the best I can. I love you guys! : D PM me and review!****s.**


	3. Chapter 2: Rival Gabite

**Now this chapter goes from Chleo's PoV to Connor's. Please watch for that. I don't know why but I love writing stories to two PoV's. Especially if it's a romance or to cause more dramatic effect! ^.^ Yay! Thanks guys for supporting me! Also, this is the first time writing a romance so don't expect it to me good lol, just cute at times. :)**

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**Chapter 2:** Rival Gabite

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**Connor's PoV**

Chleo took my breath away; she made the flames inside me spin wildly out of control. Her beauty propitiously, relentlessly beating my heart out of my chest. The flames inside my stomach burned with delight. Her shimmering eyes were golden and spoke to me in an innocent haze.

_But...she'd never nuzzle with me._

Her words baffled me. She was so smart, yet so confused by her own thoughts. She always had to think before she said anything, which complexed me.

_I know Nidoking will help her._

We arrived at the base. "Here we are," I smiled.

"I don't see anything?" she questioned, bewildered. I showed her the footprint detectors at the front and told her how Sandshrew opened the doors to let unwanted visitors unable to enter. Strangely, she understood without me explaining much.

We headed downstairs after the bolder door opened to B4F, or the dorm rooms. Chleo glanced around amazed. "How many Pokémon live here?"

"A lot."

"A lot?" she laughed at me, and I chuckled back. "How many is a lot?"

"Maybe 500, or closer to 600."

_"Holy Arceus!"_ she caught her breath. _So, she believed in Arceus, yet spook in his name?_ "This isn't a Guild, it's a whole town!" she grasped.

I could've been an ass to her not knowing a thing..., but on the other hand, her dumbness and excited nature made her kind of... I don't know, different somehow. I explained, "The town Sunset Village had to be moved into the Guild because everything above ground was ruin by the volcanoes."

"Oh! That makes sense," she answered. Her tone lowered, and she didn't seem too surprised. She followed me until we reached the Guild Master's Office. Nidoqueen was organizing files with the door ajar.

"Good afternoon!" I said friendly. "Do you know where Nidoking is?"

"He is in the training rooms," she explained. "Is this a friend of yours?"

"Well..." I wasn't sure what to say.

Chleo spoke up, "I'm new around here. My name is Chleo. Nice to meet you."

"Well, you're always welcome. Dinner is at six."

Chleo nodded before both of us ran off to find Nidoking. Or should I say I ran while Chleo barely kept with me. Why was she so slow? I stopped. "Is something the matter?"

"No, not at all." Her eyes popped as if she realized something. "Oh! Sorry I'm not keeping pace. I just... I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

She sat down and shyly bowed her head. "Everything is so new to me. You have Chandalures and Lickwits lining the halls. I've passed by so many different Pokémon! I saw everything from an Abra to a Zubat in this place! I'm sorry but this place is amazing!"

I sat down beside her. I lived here my entire life, so I never noticed it. It _was_ beautiful. Pokémon were laughing and bumping passed one another going to their rooms, while others were leaving for missions with bags upon bags of Oran Berries and food. Others were merchants making a living by selling items they found in dungeons. They lined the walls with a litwick to give them all light. A huge dinner table separated the two paths of people going to and from. "I guess it really is." I smiled. "Now come on, and let's see if Nidoking can find you a room."

"Ok!" she sounded so excited and that made me smile even more.

Nidoking was busy teaching about poison types. He was describing their noxious gasses that could leave Pokémon unconscious.

The Guild Master told us to join them in class. We sat on rags while Lanturns lit up the room behind us since in it was the water room. There was a glass panel separating the two rooms. Chleo was obvious as to what was happening.

Someone tapped me on my shoulder. Gabite. "Hey, don't you forget our fight in the stadium today." He gave a settle smirk along with his team laughing behind him, mocking me.

"No, I didn't forget. But what if I'm a no show, huh?" I bickered with a snapping bark, regretting my words.

"Better question, do you wanna find out?" he teased. _Nope._

"Hey, in the back! Pay Attention!" Muk yelled: Nidoking's assistant.

"I'll be waiting," he spoke softly into my ear. I slouched down, not wanting to be seen anymore. I didn't want to stay here anymore. I didn't want Chleo to get hurt because of this nonsense. It all started when his goons were laughing at me. I finally stood up for myself and bit Gabite's leg. He had been wanting to kill me ever since.

Chleo soon realized what was happening. I saw her face outraged when I turned toward her. "Are you crazy?" She failed at staying quiet.

"Shhhh..." I forced.

She whispered, "Gabite's ground moves will desiccate you in an instant, especially with his attack stat. Plus he looks twenty levels higher than you!"

"_Thanks._ You think I don't know that?!"

"Then why?!" she stammered.

"I have no other choice. Either I die now and possible win or die tomorrow in my sleep. Besides, if I don't hold my own, I could be kicked out of the Guild and be homeless, because Nidoking always says 'This is a place for the survivors, not the weak.'" I spoke bluntly then sighed.

Chleo frowned. The class ended, finally. Nidoking met me after class. "Who's this?" His voice was husk and displeasing. "Is she a fighter?"

"N-no, sir. B-but she has great strategies." I lied, or I didn't know anyway.

"Is that so?" His beady eyes looked over at her. I snarled a bit.

I cocked my head to hold in my anger from everything that had happened. "Can she be on my team?"

"Weren't you the ones talking the whole session?"

I sighed. "We're so sorry sir, we just-"

"Just what? Remain quiet and maybe you'll learn something," he hesitated, then handed me a sheet of paper off his desk. "Complete this mission together before dinner tomorrow, and I'll think about it."

"Thank you, sir," I bowed my head in thanks. "We won't let you down."

As we were leaving, Chleo bumped into me. "Either you're a huge pushover or he's a dick," she muttered bluntly.

"Maybe a little bit a both," my voice was strained from stress. "He's not as bad as you think. He's nasty towards the newbies because his Guild is too overpopulated."

"That's ridiculous," she stated. I agreed... "Where are you going?"

"To defeat Gabite!" I had sky-high determination, though I knew I didn't stand a chance.

Her shoulders fell, and shook her head. "I'm sorry but you're not going to win..."

I looked back at her. "I know, but I gotta try."

She remained displeased. I frowned, and bowed my head at her displeasure. "I'm sorry...Forgive me."

"No, no, I'll help!" she said.

My eyes lit up, but they soon turned to rage. "Wait. No!"

"I am, and there's nothing you can do about it!" she laughed.

"Fine."

"So, what did Nidoking give you?" she asked.

I didn't even look yet. I opened the letter. It was a request to Mt. Flare; the volcano closes to here. "No, we can't." My eyes focused on the page in disbelief.

"What? We can handle fire!" she smirked crazily.

"The letter says to collect a perish torc for Absol, but the volcano is continuously erupting. The item would've been burnt to a crisp by now."

She smiled and nudged into me, "Hey we gotta try, right!"

_I love your enthusiasm, Chleo._

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**Chleo's PoV**

I followed Connor until we reached the stadium room. Inside, it reminded me of a gym leader's room, but without the pokeball in the center. When I glanced up, the stands were filled with Pokémon yelling. I couldn't make out what they were saying. As we walked closer to the center, Gabite faced us. "Heh, do you like what I did? Now everyone will know how weak you really are. I like your friend of yours. What do you say, 2 on 1?"

Connor growled and snarled his teeth, "Don't hurt her. This is about you and me, not her." My heat jumped in a quicker pace.

He waved his blades into a fighting stance. "Oh, mister nice guy wants to protect his girl. How sweet. No matter. You and me, then."

Within a blink of an eye, Connor leaped like a rabid dog and bit Gabite on the arm. _No! Connor, you idiot!_ I could feel the burning flames inside me raging out of control.

Gabite stumbled back using his blades to shield his eyes. The moisture in the air rose to my body temperature. Huh?

"For a little guy, you're heat wave is strong," Gabite complemented, then grinned, "Maybe this fight will be more fun than I thought."

Gabite swung his blades, throwing Connor against the stone floor. _Ouch!_ As soon as Gabite came towards me, Connor rose to his feet, weakened and bruised by the blow. He gave a vicious roar, sending Gabite flying across the room. A heated anger burned in his eyes. The crowd yelled 'yays' and 'boos' across the room. A pulsing light started building in Gabite's mouth that aimed at Connor's face. My body stood in horror as I watched Connor blast off the stadium to the other side by Gabite's Dragon Pulse. "No!" A yelling shot out of my mouth without a second's hesitation.

"Ha!" he laughed. "How do you like that?" The crowd was cheering his name. I ran over to Connor in desperation, dying to know if he was okay.

His fur was tattered with scratches, and his eyes were slightly open enough to see me. "Are you okay?" I asked, clearly knowing the answer already.

"I'm fine."

_I knew he would say will be guys._

Footprints the magnitude of earthquakes was at the entrance. "What's the meaning of this!?" An Aggron harshly interrogated the stage. The Pokémon in the stadium ran after Gabite jolted out the room. The unhappy Aggron motioned toward us. My eyes widened and my heart skipped a few beats at the size of him; he was a 100x my size, if not then some. I'd expected nothing less when I saw him in the games, but it was scary to think he could squash me like a bug without an ounce of effort.

I shakily bowed to him. "We're so sorry. I-it wasn't our fought. Please help my friend."

He lowered his arm with crushed Oran berries in his hand. "Thank you." I grabbed it with my teeth and placed it by Connor. He became a happy puppy, snatching it up immediately.

"So Gabite did this, huh? I hope he knows that he'll be getting an extra training session tomorrow," Aggron sighed at his behavior. "Watch yourselves, alright? This a warning for the both of you two: Don't battle on these grounds. Don't get me started on what Nidoking would do if he found any evidence."

We both nodded.

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We ate dinner that night in the cafeteria. It was huge with long tables filled with all sorts of foods, mainly berries. There wasn't any chairs or cushions, but the table were low to the ground. Every four Pokémon had a basket filled with assortment of goodies. Since it was my first day, I didn't have a seat, but Connor allowed me to share with him. Once Nidoking gave a speech: hoping that one day we'll be able to live freely on the surface again, we commenced devouring everything in sight. And with today's crazy day, I couldn't be hungrier.

That night, I slept in Connor's dorm room at the end of the hall, because of course newbies get last... Weirdly enough, it was the first time I ever slept in a guy's room. He was a Pokémon, obviously, but he was a guy, too.

Our beds were...nothing. They were cushions of straw. The first time I stepped on them, I knew I wasn't going to sleep tonight. I missed home. I missed my family and my friends and my bed...

"Hey, Connor?"

He faced his body so he was facing me. Bags were underneath his eyes. He had to be more tired than I was.

"Why do you stay in this place? Why don't you run away from here? Far, far, away?"

"And do what?"

"I don't know..."

"Exactly. The world isn't safe. Nothing's safe anymore," he exaggerated.

I ignored him. He seemed too sad to argue with. I ruffled my hay into many different position, none of which being remotely comfortable. "Better question, can I use you as a pillow?"

His ear perked. "Yes!"

My mind rose, realizing this silly Growlithe liked me. _I shoulda known that in the Pokémon world I could get a date easily bit in the real world that could never happen. So, if I liked him back, would that be considered bestiality, even if I'm a beast myself...?_

I maneuvered myself against his mane. So, soft. So, warm. So incredibly comfortable, finally. "Good night," he said curled up next to me.

"Good night," I responded, falling quickly asleep.

* * *

I felt lost, adrift in a sea of fire. My eyes focused within the flames waves that hindered my sight. A roaring, tearing with the smell of charcoal raided my senses. But...the fire didn't burn. It felt warming, controlling, overbearing.

I leaped, almost like a frolic pass the masses of smoke, each time piles of flames becoming more rapid, more wild. I searched running, not knowing where to...

Arceus beckoned above me, "Do you like?"

"What? Like what?"

"Being a vulpix. I think it suits you."

"Oh, yes! I do!"

"So, what's this about the kid next to you?" he asked, displeased. "I thought you were trying to search for the rings."

I hollered, "I am! I swear! He's helping me!"

"Alright, I'll believe you for now," his voice deepened. The waves of fire vanished and everything fell to black.

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**Chapter end!**

**Hey! I would like to think you all for reading, and plz review if you liked it to show your support. Thanks guys!**


	4. Chapter 3: Entei's Embers

**Chapter 3: Entei's Embers**

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**Connor's PoV**

Last night I stayed awake within the darkness for hours. Exploding delightfulness built inside me. Last time I was this happy was when I was surrounded by my siblings and parents ages ago. I would protect Chleo from this dark world; I would stay strong for her; and most of all, I would keep her fire shining.

I reminisced about when I was young throughout the night. My parents abandoned me and my siblings. I was the youngest out of all of them, but I was the only male. I had three other sisters. None of us knew much about this world until we got older, then we all parted ways.

But what I wondered the most was where Chleo's family was?_ Did something happen to them? Does she know them...?_ After a while of searching for an answer, I figured it was best not to ask about her past, but instead get to know her in the present.

After sunrise, the Chandalure's lit the main rooms. Exploud gave a screeching "good morning" through the halls.

Chleo's fur spiked at the noise, her eyes jolting awake. "Ah!" she jolted. I jumped at her scream.

"Ugh, what time is it?" she wobbled to her feet. "This is worse than my morning alarm clock," she moaned.

I was too tired to disagree. I rolled over on my bed. I heard Chleo laughing at me. "What?" I groaned.

"Guess someone didn't get any sleep last night."

I mumbled, "No." _You were too cute to watch to sleep..._

Abruptly, Exploud slammed into our mahogany door, screeching, _"Good morning!"_ Chleo shouted good morning back, and he smiled. "I like you. You're cool."

She smirked, "See? I'm making friends already."

I yawned, "Yeah, and you're too perky, too."

"Well, c'mon Connor, you gotta get up!" she urged and tugged on my fur.

I gave a moan, reluctant in motivation. However, for Chleo, I got up for her. She smiled and ran out the door quickly. "Chleo! Where the hell are you going now?" I whined.

"I dunno, I'm waiting for you," she jumped around to face the room. Her tails were dancing behind her.

I grabbed my bag. "Well, first we need to eat breakfast, then go fetch that Perish Torc for that Absol."

"Awesome!" she jumped again. "I'm so excited to go on a mission today."

"I can tell," my eyes widened. A little too excited. "Anyways, let's go." I headed out the door to the second floor where breakfast was being served. We ate at the end of the table—Chleo managed to snag a seat this time—along with my friends Antonio and Cole, a Phanpy and Starly.

Cole flapped his wings, squawking, "How did you get a girlfriend yesterday? She helped you against Gabite! And you told us you were nobody!" he laughed.

I shook my head. "Nono, she's not my girlfriend. I just met her."

"Ha!" Antonia elephant noise tried to laugh, but he looked more tired than I was. _I wonder what he was up to last night…_

Breakfast ended quickly, and my friends went to class without asking why we weren't coming. As we walked outside the gate onto the ashy plain, I wondered, "You don't talk much."

"I do," she insisted.

"But?"

"But what?" she looked puzzled. "I only talk to people I know."

"You talk to me, but you don't know me." _Around me you act like a Dratini trying to use Play Nice. A dragon type using a fairy move! Ha!_

"Well, I was thinking about the strange dream I had last night."

"I know," I said calmly.

Her eyes widened. "Were you watching me in my sleep?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that was so wrong." I apologized. "Pokémon watch out for each other to keep them safe. Didn't your parents tell you that when you were a young Vulpix?"

"Uh…no. I was taught that staring was rude, especially when someone was sleeping." She gave me a look like I was the crazy one… Was I? "I mean," she restated, "my life, my friends, my family, and even the foods I ate were completely different than yours."

"I guess…"

"…I don't know this place, but I wanna learn more. I wanna explore them all, see all the legends! I wanna see and know all the map and uncover some parts nobody would dare go! Most of all, I wanna know what this place has become."

Her goals were so irrational for her level… I stayed silent.

"Don't judge me," she bowed her head.

I jolted, "I'm not judging. I just, uh, it's impossible." _Yep, she was being a Dragtini trying to use Play Nice._

"How so? If we can be near a Marcargo without becoming ash, anything is possible."

"I don't understand…"

She sighed, "Of course not. Didn't you know that Marcargo is 10x hotter than the sun!"

"So? It's a fire type. That's a given."

She glared at me with disappointment under her glaze. "Never mind."

"Hey, what did I do wrong?"

"Forget about it. Let's just get going. Where's the volcano entrance?"

I pointed at the rumbling volcano, "We're almost there."

* * *

**Chleo's PoV**

I was exhilarated when we arrived. "This is my first dungeon, you know?"

"Really? I should've known... I have plenty of Oran berries so we should be ok," he mentioned calmly.

I nodded, then headed inside the mountainous volcano. Within the arched entrance, strips of lava lined the inner walls. Large magma pools were seen throughout the floor. "Are you ready?" he asked. I nodded, then he slipped pasted the magma in front of us._ What? How?_

"Aren't you coming?"

"Uh..." I poked the magma with my paw. It was thick without polarity. It wasn't tough like quicksand, but much heavier than water. The substance didn't burn. It was warming, fueling the ember inside me to brighten like in my dream.

"What's wrong?" His eyes started to glimmer, and he stepped toward me, all fours in molten rock.

Running through the magma, I splashed him, giggling, "Nothing. You're just cute!"

"Really?"

I rolled my eyes. "Aren't you coming?" I mimicked, running to the next floor. He chased after me without saying a word.

On the first few floors we fought many Furrents, Spearows, Slugmas, and Ponytas who thought we were invading their territory. Connor was always ahead of me, fighting and battling, while I picked up the items left behind.

Connor was huffing harshly by the we reached the eighth floor. "Are you ok?" I asked.

"Sorry." He stopped before heading to the next floor.

"For what?"

"You're going to have to go in front of me; I'm running out of PP and energy," he huffed more.

"I'm full of energy because I keep getting this good feeling!" I smiled, amused with myself.

"Good feeling? Like a level up?"

My eyes widened. So, that's what that was... "Awesome! I went up 9 levels! I'm level 14!" I jumped for joy with chipper excitement.

"That's great," he smiled.

"And you?" I asked.

"Oh, 16."

"You went up 16 levels, oh my Arceus!"

"No, I'm level 16," he laughed.

"Oh." I was an idiot.

I took the lead for the next few floors until we reached the top. We looked around to find nothing. "I knew the Perish Torc would've been burned by now," Connor groaned. Suddenly there was a flash of light. I screamed and felt Connor slip pass me.

Another flash flicked with an enormous, frighten roar echoing through the black skies above us. A dog-like creature with a long ash mane was on the other side of the volcano.

Entei?

I saw a ring on his paw. _Was that what Arceus meant?_

His head tilted again, barking towards the alarming dark clouds. Suddenly, he jumped ledge to ledge until his red eyes were inches in front of us. His scorching fire breath burned my nostrils when he spoke. "Who goes there?" he growled in a deep, dusk tone.

Connor's fur shot up, barking, "W-we're not afraid of you!"

My eyes widened when a flamethrower blasted against both of our faces. Bight searing light disseminated our field of vision. I didn't have time to protect myself, nor Connor. All I could do is close my eyes and pray for Entei to come to his senses. I saw Connor in front of me holding back half the flames. The flames that hit my body absorbed into my flesh. I could feel them pulsing and radiating beneath my skin. My insides felt so strong that they were about to explode in a fiery haze.

When the flames ended, Entei roared again. Connor looked at me, asking, "Are you ok?" I nodded, barely being able to open my mouth. He gave a death-defying glare at Entei, "I only heard of you, Entei. One of the three dogs, right? We're not here to fight." Amazingly, Connor kept a calm composure. His irate eyes glared toward the shifty eyes of the Entei. He didn't know what we were going to do next. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one.

Entei didn't listen to Connor's plea and shoved us off the volcano with another nasty roar. My fur slid across the side as my head banged off rocks until I reached the bottom. A swarming dust cloud pelted my fur when I landed. Pain shot through my sides. My bones felt as though they shattered, but I could still aimlessly open my eyes within the layers of crude washing my face. _Am I dead?_ That was all I could think. "Connor!" I yelled out without a response. _Well, I'm not dead yet at least._

I desperately tried to move. I finally caught my breath enough through the dust to get up on three legs with a limp. I couldn't catch a glimpse of anything within the cloud of dust surrounding me. I sniffed the air; I knew Connor's scent, and that was what dogs did to find someone, right? I closed my eyes. Outside the dust, the air had a foul odor, like embers smoldering on coals in a summer fire.

I tried again, honing my sense of smell. It was faint, but I found him.

I shot in a race to find him. He was behind a boulder with his white tail doused in red. "Connor, Connor!" I cried, trying to find where he was bleeding.

"Chleo," he coughed. "I'm glad to see you. My shoulder is crushed." He coughed again, with some blood. "Are you ok?"

"Am I ok!? Connor, we have to get you back to the guild stat!"

"Hey, hey," his voice was calming and mild to hear. "Please just lay here with me. It'll make the pain disappear."

Tears fell down my cheeks. I was crying? "No, Connor, you need help. Can you get up?"

Without effort, he simply said, "Probably not."

"Well, I gotta go get help, alright? I'll be back!"

He grabbed my back leg. "No, don't go. Stay," he insisted. "It'll be alright. I'm not dying yet."

I laid beside him as he put his paw around me. "But you will die, though, if we don't get help."

"No, I won't. And after I stop bleeding, I'm going to defeat Entei for this. I will beat him." His fur shot up in outrage.

"No, please stop this. The Perish Torc wasn't there."

"Yes, it was! I saw it behind Entei after he leaped toward us."

"Really?"

He nodded, then started to move a little. "Hey, can you crush up some Oran berries and put it on my wound? It should heal me."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier!" I shouted, moving out under him.

"I thought you would've known that!"

"How am I supposed to know that?! I'm not a doctor!"

"What's a doctor?" he spoke dumb-founded.

I glared at him, then sighed. _No doctors, huh?_ The Oran berries healed the wounds like magic.

"Thank you." He stood up and handed me an Oran berry. "You should regain your health too before we go."

"Go! We're going to the top of the volcano again?!"

"Yeah... I told you we were, now c'mon." He ran toward the entrance, then waited for me at the first flight of stairs. _Ugh!_

* * *

"How dare you defy me! Didn't you get the memo? Go!" Entei raged with a powerful roar.

"I don't care. We didn't come to fight. I'm here for that Perish Torc behind you." Connor said.

"This?" he grabbed it. We both nodded.

"Beat me and I'll let you have it."

Suddenly, Connor dashed in front of me engulfed in flames. He rammed his entire existence into Entei's fur. They both stumbled back, but they kept their stances.

I used a new move: confuse ray. "That should surely make him lose balance." I smirked. A ball of light circled around Entei's head until he started to wobble. Connor looked into my eyes. Somehow, it was like I could read his thoughts when I saw those green eyes. I nodded, and at once we both used a move. I used Heat Wave, but this time the power was increased from the dry, heated atmosphere around the volcano. Connor bit Entei's neck. Entei ripped him off, then stomped him into the ground. His fur was matted. I ran toward him with my eyes closed; I felt a headache coming. My head started pounding with a psychic energy raffling through me.

Entei lifted his paw to allow me to pull Connor out of the way before another attack. He stood up immediately with his body strained. I gave him an Oran berry from our bag. "Thank you." he said. I nodded, then looked up to see Entei's eyes closed. Entei was asleep? "Didn't you realize you put him asleep? You used Hypnosis or something. Now come on." He ran after the Perish Torc while I put Entei's ring off his big toe through the dust and put it inside our bag. "Why?" Connor was confused.

"Just trust me."

Still baffled, he murmured, "Let's go." I followed him off the mountain and we ran back to the guild before he could catch us. I heard a snarl and howl in the distance. "Chleo, you did great out there! I didn't know you could put Pokémon asleep."

"Me either. I closed my eyes, and my mind felt as though it was pounding, then he wounded up asleep."

"Well, let's return this to that Absol." He smiled. We went inside to find him by the bulletin boards.

Nidoking rewarded us. We didn't tell him about Entei nor the ring. He sent us to dinner after saying, "I want you to be a rescue team here. Think of a team name, then lay it on my desk with both your names. I'll call you to my room tomorrow for your pins."

Starly and Phanpy greeted us at the table. "Where were you today? You missed-" The bird kept chirping, but I stopped listening.

Connor interrupted, "Guys, we got to see a legendary today." They both grasped. "Yeah, we fought Entei on top of the volcano."

"Really?" Starly, or I think Cole, asked. "Did you win?"

"No-" Connor nudged me.

"No actually we did. He fought brilliantly, but he was no match for us." Connor gave a huge smile. I bowed my head. Who did he think he was anyways? I hated liars...

The rumor spread fast for Cole and Antonio both being guys. They knew how to gossip. A lot. Some were happy for us, but others either didn't believe us or glared in envy every time they walked passed.

The day went by quickly. A bell rang to warn anyone who wasn't in their rooms. Anyone found after the bell were called into Nidoking's Office-nobody dared bother him during the day, I couldn't imagine him at night.

"Connor, why did you lie?!"

He smirked. "Reputation points." I glared. "Look, I've been here much longer than you have. Have you ever been bullied?"

"Yes, but I've never lied to make myself look better, because I knew it would come back to bite me."

"Then you don't understand what it's like," he turned his back to me.

"No, because what if they found out? Then what? We'd probably have to leave this place or get negative reputation points."

"Oh? And how are they going to find out? Asking Entei himself. It's stupid to think about it," he muttered bluntly.

"Alright, fine." I lied down beside him and pretended not to listen with my eyes closed.

He laid his chin against the fur on my shoulder blade. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

He turned his head to me. "Not just that. I scared you today. I made you cry! You're my partner now, I shouldn't had done that."

I laughed. "No, it was funny! You had me going there for a second like you were actually hurt!"

"I was actually hurt!" he grumbled.

"Yeah right, you just wanted my sympathy."

He caught his breath. "Yeah, so."

"You're adorable."

He blushed. "What?"

"You heard me."

He blushed more. "Um...anyways," he shook his head, then pulled out the ring, "why did you grab this?"

"That's the reason I was sent here." I smirked.

* * *

**Yay! Chapter end! Review what you thought! Vulpix learns Hypnosis through egg moves, which is very helpful competitively. I know because I have, like, four different Ninetails for competitive XD If anyone has ORAS, I would happily battle with you after we exchange friend codes. Give me yours through Reviews and I'll give you mine via PM. Thanks you guys for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4: Naughty Zoroark

**Chapter 4: Naughty Zoaroak**

* * *

**Chleo's PoV**

"What do you mean it's the reason why you came here?" He interrogated, huffing. He sounded as though he didn't trust me anymore.

"I came here looking for the rings to offer to Arceus. I want to save this world from the pathetic majesty it has become." I explained.

He blinked multiple times. "Are you that naïve?! Arceus does not exist! He hasn't for centuries. Everyone knows he gave his plates as gifts to the legendries to help keep peace in the world, but instead they all bicker to see who's more powerful. Without his ring, Entei will come after us and rip us to shreds!"

"What?" My eyes widened.

I heard a knock on the door, then a snicker. "Hm?"

I stood on my paws, opening the mahogany door with my teeth. A jet-black mane ruffled as teeth snarled. "I heard some racket in here." Mightyena growled. Although, the Mightyena was different than any other I'd seen. He had ridged bangs on left side. I'd seen Mightyena in the hallways. They were guards, I thought. What was he doing here?

"W-were sorry, sir—"

"Ma'am," she retorted. "No, it's ok." She flipped her fur out of her eyes. I saw a deep scar slanted across her eye. "I need you for a survey. Have you heard of Team Dark?" She started sniffing the room, like a detective searching for clues.

"No? Do you think we're part of Team Dark or something?" Connor barked.

"No, no-" Abruptly, she paced the room like a mother looking for her clubs.

"Hey, hello? Hey, what's going on?" I interrogated with a nasty bite at the end.

She smiled with a needy little grin. "He-he." A ball of darkness formed, then disappeared to show her real form: Zoaroak!

"This! It's all mine!" She held the fire ring in her hands. It shined bright, flashing oranges and golds within the deep red displaced color.

"Hey!" I yelled, but she was already running. She was too far for me to put her asleep, so I used Confuse Ray. She started sliding against the walls, yet she still ran double as fast as us.

Finally, the guards stopped her. It was a real Mightyena and an Absol. "Halt!" they ordered. Like she listened. She scurried upstairs, then she was gone.

I sat on the ground in outrage. "Now what do we do?"

Connor shrugged his shoulders. "Told you so."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It was better than Entei, but I told you something bad was bound to happen," he smirked, but soon sighed.

Mighteyna and Absol walked over to us. "What happened? What did she steal from you?"

"Um…" I glanced at Connor like 'please get me out of this'.

Connor spoke up. "She stole a ring from us. It was very expensive."

"Figures. That Zoroark is part of Team Dark. They're stealers that take anything and everything of value. Although, some of our colleges understand that they're in a cult getting orders from some other intel because we've never caught them."

"What?!" I shouted. "Please tell me that isn't so. Do you know where they went?"

"We do not. We haven't seized any of their hideouts yet." He said. I deeply sighed. "But if you find anything please send it with a Peliper to our office with your coordinates. We will come right away." He smiled. "Don't worry, we'll get your ring back."

"Thank you. I appreciate the help."

"It's no problem. Anytime."

* * *

**Connor's PoV**

Why did she have to steal that stupid ring? I should had told her to leave it. Does she honestly think Arceus is out there still looking down upon us? I think not. He gave up a long time ago, like the rest of us have. Chleo needed her head checked. Or something…

We trudged back to our room. Depressed in her sorrow, Chleo had a small tear falling to the ground. She slowed. "Why? Why would they take it from us?"

"Why wouldn't she? It adds 30% to all fire type moves. It's extremely powerful," I bickered. She cried harder. _What do I do! _"Hey, hey, don't be like that, alright. We'll find them in the morning. Right when the sun comes."

"They might be miles away by then!" she spoke loudly, but in sorrow.

"They won't. I heard of them before, and they steal here from many Pokémon. They're hideout must be around here somewhere. I have an idea of where it is." I tried to calm her. The tears stopped follow. When she looked up at me, she smiled. I smiled back. "We good?"

"Yeah. Thank you." She blushed when we finally reached on room after frustratingly running across the underground warehouse. "Can I use you as a pillow still?" she proposed.

"Of course! I swear you're just a child, though. You stress over the little things," I laughed.

She sniffled, "Shut up. I only stress because I actually care."

"Well, I love that about you. You're the first Pokémon I've ever saw that. You care." I licked her beneath her eye to lick away her tears. She jumped with wide eyes. "What? What did I do?"

"I don't want you to cry," I murmured, laying on my empty hay bedding.

She blushed at me, though it was hard to tell with her tears still there. I smiled. "Well, you're very sweet, but that was weird." She huffed, then laid beside me. "Good night."

"Sweet dreams, I guess."

* * *

**Chleo PoV**

When I woke up, the room was dim. A musky stench came from the corners. "Morning, already?" I yawned. I nudged Connor. "Hey, get up."

"Chleo…" he mumbled. "Don't leave, please. –hey no!" Tears swelled across his eyes.

"Connor!" I started shaking him.

Suddenly, he jumped, his green dilated, staring at me. I smiled. "Where am I?" he asked.

"Easy, it was a dream," I laughed. "You were crying!"

He blushed. "What? B-but—it was just horrible! You had to leave because of these stupid rings. Zoaroak kidnapped you!"

"Connor, it's ok. It was only a dream," I said, then leaped toward the door. "Now, c'mon, we're wasting daylight."

Connor reached for my shoulder. "I'm not doing this, Chleo. They are much stronger than us."

"We can just outsmart them!" I shouted in glee. "Now, c'mon."

"No."

"No? Fine, we'll stay here." A smirk appeared on my face. "I bet Gabite would love to see how strong you are now."

A shadowed glare hid across his eyes. "Fine."

"Great!" I looked up and howled. "Let's go!"

Quickly, I realized it was much earlier than I thought. Exploud hadn't woken anyone up yet. The merchants weren't awake yet either. Connor scrunched for food at the bottle of our bag. We had five Oran Berries, two Max Elixirs, and a few heal seeds. I saw Connor expression. It didn't look too happy… "I can't find an Escape Orb or Totter Orb for Monster Houses."

"We'll be fine," I positively smiled.

"I don't trust you, but ok," he frowned. I frowned with him. Was I making a bad decision? Were we doomed to die in a death trap? "Let's get going," he finally said.

We hustled through the forest dawn light. The crisps, darken leaves led the way. In the morning was the moon and sun, beckoning across the sunrise in the mist. Mankeys were still asleep in the trees, laid back and composed. Ledians' buzzing in the cold air gave me chills. Connor's hairs were so cold they were standing up shivering.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Midnight Forest. It always stays dark here underneath the dense trees," he commented. "They have to be here, but so are a bunch of ghosts."

"Ghost! You mean ghost Pokémon, right?"

"Definitely. No graveyard here, but the ghost might steal your soul, though."

"What?!"

"Yeah, they'll send you to the spirit world if you have anything on your record," he chuckles. "You don't, do you?"

Darkness overwhelmed the entrance. I took a step back before entering the dungeon. Connor wagged his tail. "What's the matter? Scared? Wish you didn't come?"

I held my poised composer with my nose in the air. "Nope, we're going."

He lifted his head up, then sighed and closed his eyes. What was his problem? I needed the ring back. That was the reason I was turned into a Pokémon in the first place. But…I guess he doesn't know that either.

I rushed up the first floor, fighting bugs with Heatwave. Surprisingly, I didn't see a single ghost. _What was he talking about? Was he lying to scare me purposely?_

We reached floor fifteen finally… I was level nineteen now. Connor was level twenty. "I told you this wasn't so bad. We've gained so many levels!" I cheered. He turned his head. "Fine! Hate me!" I eventually said.

"I don't hate you, Chleo. I just find this all stupid. If we get the ring, we'll just have a bigger bounty on our heads."

"Why?"

"Because I'm sure they've told their friends," he figured.

I tilted my head, confuzzled. "I guess I never thought of that, but awe well. I will protect it at all cost!"

"Why!"

I lifted my paw, "For Arceus!"

He face-pawed. "Whatever. My opinion doesn't matter," he whispered under his breath trying to hide it from me.

I didn't answer him because I saw a bright light in the distance. "What's that?" I pointed through the trees. Connor seemed confused as well, so we both ran after it. When we moved closer, the light was dimmer than I thought; the darkness made the light brighter than Volbeats at midnight.

Lightning bolt appended from both sides and a purple dusk filled the ominous field around it. "Boo!"

"Ahh!" we screamed, but then I laughed.

Cheerfully I bellowed, "It's a Rotom!" It started dancing above the ground.

"Rotom?" Connor spoke as though he never heard of it.

"It's an electric ghost that likes to take forms of human electronics, like washers, mowers, and ovens!" I echoed to Connor through the deep darkness. I barely saw his shadow with Rotom's light.

"Why aren't you running? This is my forest!" his voice squeaked.

I glanced up at the Rotom. "We're sorry, but we're looking for some crooks who stole something from me."

"No. Go away." He squeaked, then a lightning bolt fell the air in front of my feet. I felt the rush of sparks against my fur.

Humidity in the air made Heatwave stronger than a Rhydon using Horn Drill. Rotom fell victim to the winds and fell on the ground. His eyes became furious. Bolts shot from him rapidly, though none hit us.

"Connor, bite him, it'll me super effective!" I yelled.

"How do I bite a ghost?!"

I was about to answer, but he flipped into the air and bit Rotom's face. He spazzed-out, quickly using ominous wind. Both of us were blown and flipped on our backs. Quickly I dodged before my face ran into a tree. "This is my forest!" Rotom squeaked. His shrills were not very terrifying to say the least.

I used confuse ray, and as he spazzed, Connor bit him again. He came crashing down. "Fine, fine, you can pass."

"Sweet!" we exclaimed.

Trudging toward the end of the dungeon, we found their hideout cover in riches. Poke, rupees, sapphires, emerald, and diamonds scattered the room in heaps. It was like Skyrim all over again, except without the killing and pillaging. We hide behind some boxes, though my sneak ability was 100 in Skyrim, in real life I was never good at it.

After I heard a growl, I knew a houndoom sniffed us out immediately. The sneering rumble was not a Pokémon I wanted to reckon with. I used hypnosis, but his howl alarmed the others.

Another Houndoom chased us down by flamethowering all the boxes to ashes, then bit Connor on his back. Connor turned around and bit his face, while I forced him to sleep too. Next Zoaroak came at us with an evil grin through the dim silence.

Dark Pulse made us cringe at the blast. I used Heat Wave, but it was no use, unexpectedly a Fire Blast engulfed us in deep red and bright yellow flames. Before I could close my eyes, the heat blinded me and I passed out the ground without any hope left.

* * *

"Hey, boss, where are we supposed to hang these two up, they'll flame any ropes," said one of the houndoom. My ribs hurt from their boney back against my chest. I tried to move, but couldn't.

"Throw them in the dungeon," spoke an unghastly voice that I couldn't see.

"Like Midnight Forest or the actual dungeon," he asked.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," he groaned like Scar in the Lion King. "The actual dungeon!"

"Ok boss." They scampered off, my body bouncing and being horribly crushed as they ran.

They threw us in the dungeon head first. "Suckers!" they gawked, slamming the door behind them. A bleak darkness filled the silence as they left.

After hours went by to regain my strength, I stood up, and almost stepped on a nail searching for Connor. Once I found him, he groaned, "Where are we?"

"A crappy dungeon," I moaned. Connor cast a few embers to light up the place. All it had was dust bunnies and ariados' webs in the corners. He seemed alright.

"Turn that light out before I eat you alive!" the Ariados said. He didn't sound alright...

"We just want a way out of here, that's all." I said.

Connor threw some embers toward him. His nest crumpled to dust. "No! Why?! That took me days to make. I hate it when others do this to me-" After that, he started rambling about how his life sucks and how he'd been mistreated for years.

"If you show us a way out, I won't burn your web again," I bribed.

He sighed, "I hate Lord Spiritomb anyways..."

"Spiritomb? Is he the ruler of this place?" Connor worried. I saw fear in his eyes.

"Yes."

He showed us a way out through one of the loose bars. Once we were out, Connor glared at me. "We're leaving."

"Why?"

"Seriously?! I don't care anymore. Enough of this! The rings aren't worth the trouble. Spiritomb is evil. If Ariados didn't let us out, then we would be houndoom food. Don't you get it?" He shook his head in disbelief.

I sat down, debating what I could say to him to make him understand how I felt and why I wanted to keep at this. Because Arceus told me to? Because I'm human and I must repay Arceus somehow for turning me into a Pokémon? But I couldn't give a reason like that again. "Look..., think about all we've been through so far. It's been fun, hasn't it?"

"Fun! You called this fun."

"No, I call this my epic Sunday afternoon," I chuckled. "I got to meet new Pokémon and that's always fun."

"Yeah, and they all hate us! Can we please just go home already?"

"Not without that ring," I glared. "With or without you, I'm getting it back."

"Chleo, no. If we go in there again, we're only going to get slaughter again. Besides there's 17 other rings. Let's come back when we're stronger. Also, we could ask the guild for help. Isn't that what they're for?" he smirked.

I deeply sighed, "Fine, ok Connor. Let's head home."

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry it's been a while since I posted anything. I lost internet for the longest time, but I have internet back on, so that's yay for me! I'll be posting more frequently again.**

**Please post Characters for this story if you want. I know the story, but I need ideas for extra characters very much so. It would help me give the story some spice. Create whatever you want, but must have:**

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Personality:**

**Pokémon:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Team their apart of:**

**Bye! :D**


	6. Chapter 5: Team Inferno

**Chapter 5: **Team Inferno

* * *

**Connor's POV**

I wasn't sure what was up with Chleo; she seemed a little out of touch with the real world. Maybe she was dropped on her head one too many times when she was a pup or something. Thinking Arceus was a part of the world again after millennia was downright ridiculous, but maybe there was something I was missing from the equation.

We walked back to the Guild. It didn't take long, but as soon as we got there, a crisis emerged. An absol was hurt and a chansey was riding him out of the guild. "I wonder what happened," Chleo motioned closer with her paws.

"I don't know, but I don't really want to find out either. Absols and mightyenas are some of the strongest fighters we have," I said.

Nidoking followed the Chansey and quickly found us. He said, "I heard what remarkable things you did to Entei. Maybe you too have some spirit after all. Honestly, I thought you too wouldn't make it in the real world. Why don't you come to my office and I give you my badges?"

We went to Nidoking's office quickly. Both of us were smiling. I had been thinking about this for a long time now. Our name with going to be team Flare. I loved that name.

"I wanna be named team Raspberry." Chleo said. "I miss Raspberries."

"What the heck kind of name is that?" I bickered.

"I think it's cool being named after a fruit."

"Well, I think it's dumb. I want to be named Team Flare."

"Team Flare? Seriously? I think not. Where I come from that's an evil corporation wanting to destroy the world!" she pronounced.

"So? I think it's cool." I stomped my foot. Her red face glared at me. Her six little tails laid on the ground instead of swaying like they normally do.

"Whatever you want, I guess," Chleo sighed.

"Well, now I just feel bad. Don't do that to me!"

Finally, Nidoking came into his office. We both sat on the ground. He opened a file cabinet and placed our pens on the table. They had flames on them with wings protruding from each side. The outer edge was the shape a heart. I never saw a pen like it.

"I want you to be part of the fire squad. They're explorers. You can send mail to us, but we won't be able to send back because you must keep moving forward. I've learned a lot about you, Connor, over the years and I always knew this wasn't you're home." He handed us a map filled with different isles and the mainland we were on. "I want you to report anything new you find that isn't on this map, and we'll mark it. You have the newest map, so most things will be marked. Therefore, I want you to go to each of the cities and see if they need help."

My eyes sparkled as he spoke more and more. This was a dream come true! "Thank you so much."

"Also, your team name is Team Inferno. Nidoqueen, over there," he pointed to her behind the door, "said you two were bickering, so I decided to pick for you."

"Team Inferno sounds sweet!" I said with a bright smile.

"You will leave out tomorrow," he said.

"Um… Nidoking, sir, I didn't want to say this while you were talking, but we found Team Dark's hideout in Midnight Forest. They stole a ring and we want it back." Chleo said innocently.

"Why didn't you say something earlier!" he screeched, yet sounded thrilled. "We will send a team at once to deal with them. You will get your ring back."

"Awesome!" I said. "Also, we wanted to know what happened to the hurt absol outside."

"He was attacked by Suicune. The devastating beast took out everyone. She was saying something about claiming her territory from Entei." Nidoking told us, his horns looking down at us. "Now, you can't get any ideas. Suicune is a water type. You cannot intervene."

We both sighed, "Ok."

I put my pin on my bag and Chleo put hers on top of her fluff as a bow. It was very pretty. I put the map in my bag, and we both walked out of the room and headed to our dorms.

* * *

"I'm exhausted," Chleo muttered.

"Me too," I yawned. "There's nothing we can do but sit here and relax for a little while."

"I hate not being able to do anything," Chleo hit her pillow like a rock. I wasn't sure if she was doing it for dramatic effect or if she was tired. She began again, "I mean, can't we just talk to Suicune and understand the situation?"

"Are you nuts?" I cried. "Legendries don't change their minds. The best thing to do is relax." I stretched and yawned again. "Good night."

"Good night, I guess," she sighed.

* * *

The next morning, a knock came from the door. It was strange to get a visitor before Exploud woke everyone up. Was it Zoroark again? Should I answer it?

Chleo stumbled to the door. Nervous to death, I bit parts of my fur. "Hello?" Chleo said.

It was an absol with a letter in its mouth. "We got your ring, but the stupid bastards wouldn't even fight us. They left without a trace."

"That's horrible!" Chleo said while rubbing her eyes with a yawn. "Thank you."

"No problem." He waved goodbye to us. Seconds later, Exploud was shouting down the hallways. _Ugh, now we had to get up._

I opened the parchment. As soon as I did, the flames inside the ring beckoned for me to wear it. Shaking my head, I put the ring inside the bag, looking back at Chleo. "Is something wrong," she said?

"No, it's nothing," I said.

The letter had a note inside of it. It was from Nidoking, "Sorry, I got a little busy, Team Inferno. I forgot to give your next assignment. Go to Cloudsdale. It's a city to the northeast province; here lately, Pokémon have spotted darker clouds than normal and I want you to investigate it. Our squads will handle the Suicune attacks."

My ears shot up at the word Cloudsdale. Chleo noticed, asking, "You heard of them, haven't you?"

"Yeah, it's nothing good, though. They don't let anyone inside their wall unless they're electric types."

"Oh," she muttered. "How are we supposed to get into the city?"

"I'm not completely sure, but we'll just have to go up there and see, I guess," I shrugged.

We climbed many hills through shrubby terrain and harsh swamps to get there. Luckily, we managed to get there before dark, but just barely. I lit a torch and held it in my mouth so we didn't get lost. The forest was a scary place at night.

Castle gates the size of an aggron towered over our heads. "So, this is Cloudsdale. The clouds don't seem that bad, just swirling black balls…" she noted. It was raining hurricanes! I wasn't sure what she was talking about.

Suddenly, lightning struck in front of us and we quickly jumped backwards. I electric jolt freak me the heck out, and Chleo looked frazzled as well. "Halt! Who goes there, fire bastards." A Manectric on top of the building said.

"Rude!" Chleo shouted. All I could think is _'Shut up, Chleo. This is their turf.'_

"We are above all others because we control the skies. Therefore, you're the one being rude," he howled.

"No type is above all the types. We're supposed to live together and help one another," I echoed. If anything, that was the one thing I learned from the guild.

"Nooo!" he growled.

Chleo grabbed me, "This is going nowhere. We need another plan."

Instead of disagreeing with her, I followed down the path where we came until we met a riverside. It was overflowing with water because of how much rain was here. We set up camp little ways from the current because neither of us wanted to get swept away. We couldn't get a fire started. We used enough embers to burn a whole forest down, but it was no use in this weather.

"We need a plan," Chleo demanded like I was going to blurt one out. Her fur was matted, mine probably was, too, and I just wanted to get out of this rain.

"Chleo, I just want to get out of this rain. Honestly, I wish Entei's volcano was here, then at least it was warm. We could dress up as electric Pokémon."

Chleo's face brightened. "Wait, I got it! It makes so much sense now. These Pokémon have never seen anything besides rain their whole life because that's how they've lived." She searched my pack. It was a little uncomfortable, but I couldn't help but smile at her. "I found these Sunny Day TMs while coming here. Maybe if they see the sun, their views will change."

"Chleo, that's nonsense. That's like saying the legendries are going to change their ways by just talking to them. It doesn't work like that." I huffed.

"We have to try it, right?" she gave me an undefined look.

The next day we both taught ourselves Sunny Day. (A/N: I do not know how TMs would work in the Pokémon world at all, so I can't describe how they learned it…) We stood at the castle door again. It was morning so the guards were asleep. We used Sunny Day on the rain. Bright sun rays shined down upon us. It felt so nice. My coat began to dry. This was one of the happiest moments of my life.

The guards freaked out, running off the wall gates. The doors opened and everyone was running into their homes. Luxray's with their shinx clubs and ampharos' mareeps scampered in fear.

"Where are they all going?" I asked myself.

Suddenly, a flash of light blinded us. I quickly shielded Chleo from the harsh light. "Aaargh! What is the meaning of this!" A Thundurus protruded from his cloud. "Who do you think you are? Nobody can change the weather besides me in my town."

"This isn't your town. I'm sure these Pokémon want to see more than just rain. Why else do you think they're scared of you," I roared.

He laughed, lightning struck the ground and the rain botched my fur. Raindrops fell from my nose into my mouth. Without hesitation, I used Sunny Day. I had enough of this stupid rain! Chleo joined me. Afterwards I used Heat Wave to blow him away from the city. Quickly, floating on his cloud, he shot electroballs at us. I skid on my feet while Chleo was flown backwards and hit the wall. She was out cold by the looks of it.

Apparently, the other electric Pokémon were watching us, because a couple of them started to help, using thunder and thunderbolts at him. "We're tired of this Thundurus! You said our society would be better with only electric types, but ever since then it has gone down the drain. Literally, because you never stop the rain." Manectric said.

Luxray agreed, "My boys don't even know what the sun looks like because of you!"

After that, the rally got stronger and stronger. Thundurus didn't stand a chance against the towns Pokémon. He was stricken one too many times that he eventually ran out of town without a trace. The town was overly joyed. Manectric came over and helped our wounds with the extra Oran berries he had. "Thank you," he bowed his head. Looking up at the others he said, "We're going to have a feast tonight!" They all cheered.

He winked at us, "Even though you're not electric, you're welcome to come, too."

* * *

Dinner was delicious! Man, did they know how to put the spark in their cooking! After dinner, Manectric thank us again for helping them, but this time was different. "Follow me." he said.

In the middle of town square was a water fountain. Manectric put in a password to open the hidden passage. Down the creepy stairs, I was a little terrified of what was going to happen to us. Chleo, on the other hand, didn't seem so worried.

At the end of the stairs was a yellow ring with a lightning symbol on it. Was it what I thought it was. "Cloudsdale would like you to have this," Manectric proclaimed with a sparkle in his eye. He handed it to us and I dropped it in my bag. Two out of eighteen! "Also, I would love to join you. I always wanted to be an adventurer."

Both me and Chleo looked at each other, bedazzled and confused. Chleo was the first to speak, "Sure!"

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Here in Cloudsdale we don't have names because we didn't like to differentiate ourselves, but you can give me a name if you wish. I humbly will be at your service."

"Hey, hey, there's no reason to talk like that," Chleo smacked his nose friendly.

I spoke up, "I'm going to call you Flash."

"Ok," he said.

"I like that," Chleo smiled. "But aren't you the one who called us fire bastards?"

A drip of sweat came from his forehead, but soon laughed, "Ha-ha, no that was my brother. He took his job too seriously."

* * *

**Chapter End! Sorry this was all Connor's POV. I liked it. I figured I'm always in Chleo's POV, so I decided to have Connor's POV for a change. Did you like the chapter? Was there anything wrong? If you review or PM me, I'll be sure to change it in a flash. Thanks for reading!**

**I decided to do a new thing with author notes. Nobody has sent me any character ideas hardly at all, so I'm going to give you a riddle for you to solve. If you can solve it and are the first to, congrats! I'll do something for you at the end of the author notes next time, or whatever you would want! :)**

**Riddle me this:**

Born in Sinnoh,

I can be your beginning bro,

I can learn bite,

but I'm no dark type,

holding my sturdy ground

I can support life on my mound

Who am I?


	7. Chapter 6: Muddy Waters

**Thank you all for reviewing my story! Everyone that reviewed gets a special treat from me! I get to write a story you want to write, but can't! Most are romance ideas. I'm not the best, but I'll do my best! If you want me to do something for you, review! It may be inconvenient, but please show me the love because you guys are like my family and I love you all, too. PM me anytime about anything. Please give me recommendation for your stories/other stories on the site. Let the chapter begin!**

**Chapter 6: Muddy Waters**

* * *

**Chleo's POV**

_Beep, beep, beep!_ A buzz sounded. Where am I? I looked at my surrounding to see pictures of different animes, mlp artworks, Pokémon posters everywhere, and a tv in the center of the room. I was back in my old room again! _Was that all a dream?!_ _What has my mind gone to… Ugh! I was starting to like that growlithe, too._

A knock came from my door, "Good morning, sweetheart. Ready for school?" My mom said. She was wearing her nightgown with blue flowers on it. How I missed her. Quickly, I jumped out of my bed and hugged her.

"I love you!" I started to cry a little.

"What happened, did you have a bad dream?" she asked. I nodded. "Awe, sweetie, it's ok, I'm here for you." I sniffled inside her breasts as she petted my hair. Why I was so abnormally short I couldn't hug her like a normal person, baffled me. After a minute, I pushed off her. Surprisingly she didn't ask what my dream was about, and she was less concerned about it than she normally would.

I ran down the hall to smell my dad, with his red beard and hair, cooking sweet bacon and eggs with toast and orange juice. What a glorious day! I hugged him, too, and loved his breakfast even though it wasn't the greatest in the world. I didn't care; I just was glad to have my family back in my life again. However, it seemed too good to be true. My dad never got up so early in the morning.

The yellow Twinkie came with hollering kids yelling at each other before I even got on the bus. I didn't care; I was more amused than anything. I was so gleeful I high-fived the little kids as I got on the bus, almost tripping and falling on the way through the aisles stepping on every bookbag in sight, but it was all cool. I was finally happy for once. I was _never_ happy in real life.

Now that I thought about it, starting up a team was the most joyful thing I ever did in my life. Now what was a supposed to do? Get a boyfriend, get a job, have some kids, and all that sounded boring to me. Boring life for a boring person, I guess…

When I got to school, the inside sparkled unlike I ever noticed before. Kids filled the hallways, trailing each other back and forth, yelling from afar. People were always told to stay to the right, but nobody ever did, so everyone scrambled to get where they were going. I missed this place.

The more time I spent in the real world, the more my mind trailed off thinking of the fun adventures I could've made of Connor. In my classes, I started writing a comic strip of us and the gang. I missed Connor. People asked me what I was drawing. I was a good drawer, so they were always excited when I started to draw anything. My friends loved me for my drawings more than anything else. My best friend was a blonde named Abigail. She was always there for me, even when I was at my worse.

I told her about my adventures in my dreams. She said I should write a story about it, so I did. She was overly joyed when she read the first chapter. She said it was the best thing she ever read.

"Maybe you should become a writer when you grow up!" she always said.

"Thanks, maybe I will." I always smiled.

By the end of the school day, this place didn't feel like my home anymore. Pokémon was the world I wanted to be in. Connor was my family. That place was my home.

Sluggishly, I got on the yellow Twinkie, depressed at my world. Am I bipolar? I was so happy this morning, ready to take on the world, but now it was just blah. What happened to me?

Finally, I reached my room. All I wanted to do was sleep so I could be in my world again. When I threw down my FMA bookbag, I blinked. I opened my eyes to find the blackness that swallowed me up in the very beginning. "Arceus?"

"Yes, my child, welcome again."

"Oh, how glad I am to see you!" I laughed and smiled.

He came out of the shadows. "I decided to let you have a taste of your old family and friends. Did you have a nice visit? I didn't want you to get too worried about them. I put you inside their dreams and linked them together."

"Can you even do that?" I interrogated. I was questioning God. Why should I be questioning God?

"I can. So, which world would you rather be in? This one or the human realm?" his voice musk and sinister.

"Definitely this one!" I answered.

"I was hoping for that answer. If not, I can always get another human…" he trailed off.

"No, no, I want to stay!" I begged.

"Then go find my rings!" he shouted up to the heavens. I thought this was the heavens?

He disappeared and everything became dark again.

* * *

Blinking, my heart leaped above my chest. I was laying on the edge with white flowers surrounding me. The grass beneath my side whispered like an angel in the breeze. It was freezing cold, but the fur against my skin gave me enough warmth to stand. My paws flicked at the ground, pawing at the wet soil. I lifted my chin up to the blissful landscape, blowing every inch of my red fur. I felt free here. This was my world. This was where I belonged.

"What are you doing, Chleo?" Connor distantly asked.

"Connor, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, go ahead," he said as he walked closer to me, then laid down and yawned. I guess it was still early, wasn't it?

I put all my thought and willpower together to say something so simple. "I'm a human turned into a Pokémon."

"What? Like the one in the legends who helped save Dialga?" his voice rose and he sat up.

"Uh, yes, but not him," I managed to muster. The games were real events?

"What are you then? The one with mew as your partner?" he smiled with his tongue hanging out. "Or the one who made paradise island?" he barked.

"No, I'm not a part of any of those people. I'm a human not related to those ones."

"So, you knew them! That means you had to of met them! What were they like?" His eyes began to sparkle. He was so cute. What am I supposed to tell him?

"I'm sorry, I didn't know them," I said, shaking my head. "What happened to them?"

"They went back to their world, of course! Why would they want to stay here?"

"...I want to stay here," I shyly said.

He smiled. Connor glared with determination and raised his paw in front of his face. "Don't worry, I believe you, now. I won't let you leave. I'll help you get the rings for Arceus!" He stopped his determination looked. "Did he actually send you here?"

I nodded with a small chuckle. "If it was going to be this easy to get you to trust me, I would've told you a long time ago."

"Chleo, you can tell me anything, and I'll always trust you. You're my only friend." he smiled.

Flashing memories came back to me. "I'll always trust you." That was what Abigail used to always say to me. I missed her.

I shook my head, not knowing what to believe. Was this world better or my home world? I was so confused.

"What's wrong?" Connor asked.

"I don't know, Connor, I missed my family and friends, that's all," I said.

"Oh… I know how that feels. I left my friends Cole and Antonio. I miss them, just like you miss your friend. You can't change that now, just hope that you can make new ones!" he grinned, then pushed me childishly, crushing my shoulders and making me land on my back. His tiger legs held me down. A soft tongue ran across my nose. It did more than just tickle; it made me blush a bit. "Besides we're your family now!"

"Hey, quit it!" I laughed, rolling over, then running around throwing small embers at him. I was slowly getting better and better at controlling my fiery core.

Flash yawned with bags under his eyes. His yellow mane flew in the breeze. He snapped at us, "What the hell are you too think you're doing. It's too early for this." His stretched out his body. "Well, now you idiots woke me up, I guess we can get a move on."

"Why are you yelling at us for? You joined us remember." I growled.

"So, doesn't mean you should be running around like retards. Now, I'm level 47, and by the look of it, I'm much higher than you two, so you better respect me."

"Heh, whatever, meanie," I whispered under my breath.

"Isn't this guy a jackass or what," Connor said under his breath. I laughed.

I grabbed the map with my teeth out of Connor's bag, placing it on the cool ground. I placed my paws on the center of the map so it wouldn't blow away. "Me and Connor are still the leaders, so I say we go here." I marked Northwind peak with an X with my claws. "That's where Suicune is and I want to talk to her."

"_Are you crazy?_" Connor bickered. "I don't want to die. Water, remember?!"

"Yes, but now we have an electric type, therefore we should have Flash in the front to throw lightning through Suicune's attack while I confuse her and you use Sunny Day and Heat Wave for the most damage," I proclaimed. By the end, I was almost screaming because the winds drew stronger and stronger with every breath.

"Ha, who's your leader of your pack now," Flash smirked, walking off the hill.

"Shut up, Flash," I rolled my eyes.

* * *

**Connor's POV**

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid idea_. Couldn't we do anything besides killing ourselves/handing ourselves over to the one type that could rip us to shreds like a shark with a bomb in its belly. Maybe I was a little overreacting, but seriously, I wasn't sure what Chleo was thinking, but it wasn't anything good.

Trudging through the hurricane front moving in, the trees moved until they were parallel to the ground. The wind whistled enough to kill any Pokémon's eardrums. "Chleo, use Sunny Day with me!" I yelled over the storm. I saw what I thought was a nod. I went ahead and used Sunny Day, nod or no nod. I smiled when it worked. The sun felt so good against my fur. I closed my eyes, daydreaming of the warmth of a shimmering summer's day.

Suddenly, the sunshine flickered out, "Hey, what's the big deal," I barked.

Flash laughed, "Too bad the storm's stronger than you."

"Whatever happened to you being humble, anyways?" Chleo sneered.

"You told me to be me, so I'm being me," he said, smugly. "I can use Rain Dance if you like, but oh wait, your fire types that are so useless in the rain. So, typical."

"I'm starting to think you never had a brother…!" I frowned.

"Maybe, maybe not," he smirked.

_Ugh, why did Chleo want this guy, anyways. I guess he's going to help us with suicune and he is higher than us by 20x._

Fighting the storm, we finally made it to the top of the mountain huffing and puffing, but we made it! I spread my legs out and laid on the ground, rolling over. "Connor, get up," Chleo kicked me with her back legs.

"Meanie!" I huffed, jumping up. "Can't we get any rest, ugh!"

"I wasn't a part of the athletics division for nothing. I did track mostly, so if I can do it, so can you." She gave me a paw to help me on my feet.

I sighed, "If that's true then why can't you take the bag, huh?"

"Cause you look so much cuter with it," she bounced.

"Really!" My eyes widened. "Wait... Ugh. Fine, whatever, I'll carry it." I sighed.

"Awesome, thanks," she bounced some more into the cavern.

Suicune's hideout was nice and organized, like too organized. Everything to books and berries were neatly stacked into piles surrounded by crystals.

"Don't touch the crystals!" Flash growled as soon as Chleo went to touch one. "They're alarms. Stay close to me."

Flash was mean, but at least he was a better leader than we both were.

"I don't see Suicune," Chleo said skeptically. "Is this the right place."

We followed Flash deeper inside the cavern to find hot springs buried deep in its walls. I sat in one and started to relax my legs in the pools.

"Connor, you're going to get us in trouble," Chleo muttered. Flashed just glared at me and sighed.

"What? If she's not here, then I'm going to take advantage!" I howled enough to make the walls tremble a bit, then I stopped.

All our ears perked when we heard a noise at the entrance way. _Oh no..._ I stepped on of the water, making more noise than what I realized.

We heard echoes, "Where are my apples again! I reorganize this every day and I still can't find anything!" Her voice started to get closer and closer until her beady eyes came across us.

"AHHH!" she screamed a very girlish scream. She was wearing glasses, which was something I'd never seen before. I thought only humans wore them. During her moment of screaming, even her swaying purple cape spiked like a glameow's back in shock. She swished her head to push the glasses up on her face. "Who might you be?"

Chleo stepped forward, her body language shaking, "We heard you were going to fight Entei. We thought you were going to hurt our friends in Sunset Village. We came here to fight you!"

"Fight me?" she laughed, her paw against her mouth. "I think not. I'm too busy for your scrabbles. I wasn't going to hurt your village." Chleo calmed down her timid shaking, but I sure didn't. I was still scared to death when she was going to shoot her Hydro Pumps at us.

Chleo growled, "Then why did you go to Sunset Village."

"Hm, well you did come all the way up here. It had to of taken days to come here from there, so I'll tell you. I wanted his ring," she said nonchalantly, flipping her glasses up again.

"Why did you want his ring?" Chleo asked.

"I wanted to be the queen of the Pokémon land, of course!" she manically laughed, but failed horribly. The sarcasm in her voice made me want to face-paw.

"Uh-huh… Right, ok, so we're going to be going now because you are obviously crazy," Flash rolled his eyes.

Suicune lifted out her paw, "Wait!" She sighed, speaking earnestly, "I want peace in the world again. Entei has gotten too out of control the past few decades, and I needed to take his ring to save Sunset Village."

Chleo's eyes twinkled, "Really?"

"Yes, but he said someone already took it from him. Boy, was he mad when he realized it was a few kids. A vulpix and growlithe." Realization struck her. "Hey, wait, you're the one he was talking about."

I got the ring out of my bag. She took it immediately out of my paw, holding it up to her glasses. "I haven't seen this specimen in centuries; it is truly fascinating."

"Hey, that's ours," I growled.

"Um, no, it's being kept here," she spoke with a certain tone in her voice that she was meaning businesses.

Ever so casually, Flash spoke while almost passed out inside a hot tub, not staring at any of us, "If it stays here it's just going to get stolen." He waved his paw.

"I will protect it with my life," suicune stomped, irate.

"Yeah, yeah, and when you leave, you'll take it with you like a good girl, and then it'll get stolen from your bag, because no offense, but you may have brains and bronzes, but you have short wits, my friend," Flash sarcastically said.

"And you think you can do any better?" she rose her composure to prove she was the alpha in this situation. She wouldn't let a lowlife like him tell her what to do. He just rolled his eyes. I was surprised suicune didn't blast him for being so rude, not like I would really care.

"Why not let her have the ring. Then we can go back to our normal lives in Sunset Village and relax. Mmmm, sleep would be nice…" I said. Everyone looked at me funny.

"No! Where's your sense of adventure. I want to collect all the rings and make the place a better world again!" Chleo cheered.

Suicune lifted her paw against her chin thinking. "I have an idea. I'll come with you to keep all the rings safe and we'll get all the rings together. The more Pokémon, the more power, right?" she giggled.

"So, let me get this straight, we don't have to fight you?" I asked, merrily.

"Uh, I don't think so. You wouldn't win anyways."

Flash spoke up again. "Yea right, we would kick your ass, and you know it." He got out of the pool, yawning. I wished he would just shut up already. "So, you have the water ring, right?"

She pushed her glasses up again, shyly, "Not necessarily… I gave mine to my friend Keldeo."

_"God damnit_! Seriously?!" Flashed sounded more annoyed than angry. We all laughed.

* * *

**Chapter ends here! Thanks for reading! Review or PM me what you thought of this story. Remember if you are not a part of the site, you can still review, too! ^.^ I would love for you guys to give some other good PMD stories to read, too.**

**Answer to last chapters' riddle: Torterra**

**Thanks for everyone reviewing! I'll make something special for everyone who won!**

**Riddle me this**:

Part of the third gym

Nobody can beat on a whim

Milk drinks are in my nature

Attract will make you a hater

Who am I?


	8. Chapter 7: Dojo Prison

**Answer for last riddle: Milktank or Whitney's Milktank**

**Author: **Welcome back to PMD: EotR!

**Chleo: **Don't forget to review!

**Flash: **Pfft! People don't review anymore.

**Chleo: **Why not?

**Flash: **Too inconvenient for them

**Chleo: **Don't say such mean things

**Flash: **Why? Fanfiction is dead.

**Author: **Is not! So, shut it, Flash.

**Flash: ***glares*

**Author: Anyways, this chapter is supposed to represent and how I view people who say 'I'm not going to continue unless I get blank reviews.'**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Dojo Prison**

* * *

**Chleo's POV**

"It's so cold!" Connor tried to yell, but it came out a harsh whistle, his teeth clanged together like a rusty klang. I sat on suicune's purple fluffs of fur. I was quite comfortable. Suicune didn't mind, but only one of us could fit at a time. Connor let me go first because I lied and told him it was hard for me to walk. A human turning into a four-feet vulpix and all. He totally believed me, and all I could was internally laugh.

"Are we there yet?" Connor shivered.

"Will you stop that? You've said that for the thousandth time!" Flash growled. "Does it look like we're there yet?"

I jumped up, my feet sliding against Suicune's fur as she walked. I mounted myself above the crystal on top of head. I stood there like a soft butterfree floating in the breeze. The wind was overbearingly icy, though. Chilly flashes of snow bounced into my face, making me want to roll up into a ball. A ball covered in a comforter sitting inside my perfect temperature house. It made me think of what I took for granted: my phone, my computer, and my house. Now, none of that matters. All that mattered was the air brushing against my fur. It made me feel alive! Unlike the feeling of being inside my house fumbling on a keyboard checking up on friends. Breathing in and closing my eyes, I felt my soul, my spirit, and my destiny, heighten in a fiery passion. Where was I going? What was my part in this world? How could a small little vulpix like me make such a difference? Somehow, I was going to figure it out soon.

"What do you think you're doing?" Suicune pulled her glasses up, looking up at me. When her crystal rose backwards, it threw me on my back, and I flopped on her mane.

I shook the snow off me, saying, "The fresh air felt nice."

Connor spoke, softly but hearable, "What do you want your nickname to be? I was thinking Aurora."

Suicune's eyes widened, speaking from the heart, "No, anything but that, that's what my former trainer called me. It seems like millennia ago now. Entei killed him in a house fire. He said it for me to make sure I didn't become too close to the human, but what he didn't know is that I already was too close by his standards. I still wholeheartedly believe we can learn a lot from them. I wear these glasses to remember him. Also, the flames made my eyes go nearly blind."

"Oh gosh! That sounded rough," I grasped.

"Why not celebrate his death and our cause by letting us call you that," Connor said, smiling, like he wasn't sad at all.

Flash spoke in a calm voice, unlike usual, "It could give you spirit to fight. That's what we _all_ need right now."

Suicune huffed, "No. I cannot do it. I think you should call me Borealis."

"Ok, Borealis it is!" Me and Connor both chimed.

She pulled up her purple glasses again, sighing. A horrible feeling burst throughout my body, aching my bones; we shouldn't have made her think of such a terrible time.

"There it is! On top of the mountain," Suicune hollered, leaping through the heaps of sleet. "According to my calculation, it is only 356 feet."

Connor muttered something under his lips about how he hated the ice underneath his toes. I felt so bad for him that I jumped off Suicune, or Borealis, and let him have a turn. "Really?" he glowed, his golden eyes sparkling as his mane shriveled in the harsh wind.

"Really." I nodded. He climbed on top of suicune like a young cub trying to climb into their adult's bed. He curled up inside of her mane instantly, blissfully sleeping. Snores came from him shortly afterwards. I wished I could fall asleep that fast.

He was right about the snow. Underneath me was below -30 degrees, I swear! I slipped on the ice, time and time again trying to push myself up the mountain. Eventually the sloop became too steep that even Flash couldn't climb up it. Borealis grabbed us one-by-one by the necks and shoved us up the mountain top, leaping without any problems. _Pfft, I wish I was a legendary._

At the top of mountain was a dojo. A medicham was meditating at the top of the slope, just sitting there, not even noticing us. Borealis took a step closer and closer until her shadow was covering the Medicham's body. "Why are you here suicune?" He said peeking one eye.

"I'm looking for Keldeo," her tone was tough and demanding.

"The sacred swords own this dojo. You must get to the top floor to meet them," he said, eyes closed with a mellow tone.

Another one came up to us, a machamp. He gave out his hand and shook all our paws, laughing, "Sorry, we don't get many people in these parts."

"We're here to see Keldeo." Borealis stomped her foot this time.

"Sorry lady, but you need to get through the dojo if you want to see him," he placed an arm against the back of his head, like he was sorry or something. I didn't see a sorry look in his face at all, though.

"Screw you," Flash barked, "can't you just take us to him?"

"No can do. Official dojo rules."

I spoke up, "It can't be that bad."

"It's only five floor," the machamp said, flexing its body, "But there's some tough fighting types in there if you think you can handle it."

_Ha, what did he take us for? Losers? I think not. Anyone under my confusion spell would make any fighting high-jump kick into a wall. They didn't stand a chance._

The machamp let us to the first floor, shutting the door behind us. Strangely, it wasn't like any mystery dungeon I had ever encountered. The first floor was an open space with nobody inside of it. Flash took a step forward, quickly jumping his paw back. A pitfall trap activated. We all stared down the hole. It didn't look very pleasant. Spinaracks scattered the walls, enough to make Borealis jump into another trap. It was a fan. It tossed Borealis across the room to where the stairs were. Her glasses fell down her face. Somehow it wasn't rough enough to wake Connor up.

_Lucky. Man, was he tougher than a bedrock sleeper._

She put her paw up to her mouth, screaming, "Do you want me to go on ahead?"

Flash howled back, "Sure, we'll catch up to you." Without any more hesitation, they headed up the stairs.

"Do you have a plan?" Flash asked.

"Plan? Hell no."

He rolled his eyes, growling, "And you're supposed to be the leader? Bullshit."

I sighed. "Listen, it'll be ok. We'll just step forward." I rose my paw in front of me, cringing at the slightest moving pebble.

Suddenly, the floor fell through. I screamed louder than I had ever scream, like I was falling to my death. Seconds later my shoulder blades hit the hard ground, pain spiking through my spinal cord. A dust formed around me. Coughing, I stood up while my ribs cried in agony.

"Are you ok?" Flash echoed.

"Yes, I'm fine." I said, noticing it was extra dark and tunnel like. No large Pokémon could get through.

"Can you give me your paw?" he asked. His paw dangled the only light. Jumping with all my might, I couldn't reach it. I hated being short. Even me as a vulpix was short!

Climbing was my only other option. Running around in a circle, I gathered my momentum to pounce and catch his hand.

Then, our problems got much worse, Flash slipped on the dust forming when I grabbed his paw. Soon, he came crashing down, and we were both were in a pit, no way to escape. "Awe, c'mon!" Sparks flew from him. Thankfully none of them hit me.

He roughly petted the fluff on top of my head moving from one ear to the other like I did to my dog. He snickered, his red eyes glistening, "It'll be ok, leader."

* * *

**Connor's POV**

Chleo was sleeping beside me surrounded by heaps of fire. A rich charcoal smell swarmed the air. I started grooming Chleo as she was in her sleep. She rolled and started, mumbling, "Connor get up… Get up Connor. Connor!"

My heart jumped awake. Borealis was shaking me. "Oh, good, you're awake." she said and stopped.

"Where are we?"

"In a dojo, and I need you to fight with me," she said grimly. Her nose was bloody, and her glasses weren't on her face anymore.

I traced my eyes around the room. Two Gurdurs, a Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, and Hitmonchan were facing us, but I couldn't find Chleo or Flash. "Where's everyone else?"

"Not here, they got trapped," Borealis calmly told me. I grasped. _Were they ok?_ "Don't worry about it now."

I decided to not stress out about it, and stood up. A legendary of all things wanted my help, and I wasn't going to let her down! I used Heat Wave to do damage to everyone in the room. All of them besides the hitmontop, the others shielded their eyes while the hitmontop spun wildly, coming for us. _It did nothing to it!_

_Maybe I couldn't help that much, afterall. Sigh._

Borealis used Calm Mind. Her eyes turned white and she just stood there.

What was she doing! She was going to get us killed! With the fighting types agility, I couldn't block any of their incoming attacks. Hitmonchan jabbed me with thunderbolts coming out of his fists. Then, hitmonlee came by and kicked me in the jaw, dislocating my teeth. My adrenaline made me not feel a thing, but that didn't mean when I slid against the ground it didn't hurt like hell! With the last ounce of energy I had, I grabbed an Oran berry and swallowed it whole since I couldn't move my mouth even if I tried. Energy and life renewed me. My jaw felt better as well.

In the corner of my sight, a gurdur slung its metal beam. I leaped out of the way, growling, then bit his shoulder. His mahogany eyes grew vexation. His rough fingers grabbed my neck, and I went flying against a wall. My head felt like it had turned into mush. When I opened my eyes, the lights caused focused suffering in the front of my skull. I heard pebbles dropping in front of me. Suddenly, the wall collapsed catastrophically, but it was impossible for me to move out of the way.

Everything went black.

* * *

**Chleo's POV**

"You think we should follow the passageway?" I asked. It was dark and scary, and not only that but the soil was freezing. I wasn't sure if I was complaining and prolonging the inevitable, but I didn't like the tunnel.

"There's not much else we can do. You lead the way." Flash lifted his paw for me to go first with a smile.

I crawled into the whole, thrusting with my back legs to go deeper and deeper. The more I went the darker it got and the more my heart raced to find what was on the other side. In the distance, my sensitive ears heard running water. The smell was god awful.

It was a sewage drain. "I rather eat my own punk than smell this," Flash whined, holding his paw over his nose.

"Same!" I whined, too, holding my paw up. It didn't help the smell any. It was like fly infested tuna, mixed with rotten eggs, and a skunktank's butt. A sidewalk paved the way for more exploration, but truly, I didn't want to move. After a second, I couldn't sit in the same spot any longer. "Left or right?"

"You lead the way," he simply said.

I decided to turn right. Flash ran ahead of me, and I followed him through the maze of corridors. Finally, we came to the end. The smell was distant, faint now. I was so relieved that I took a breath in, completely satisfied. Glancing around, there were locked cages with Pokémon inside. At a closer look, it was the swords of justice!

"Hello? Who's there?" came Virizion's voice, or what I thought Virizion's voice would sound like. It was tender, but soft and gentle.

"We're here to get you out of here!" I said without thinking twice about it. I used ember on the 6-inches thick bars. Once all of them were hot, a figure ran out of the shadows and kicked the door down.

It was Cobalion!

He had scars covering his body. Part of his horn was completely damaged ripped and broke to shreds. His metallic body had scrapes and scratches like a shiny mustang when a slicing key hits its side. His left eye was bruised black and blue. I didn't notice at first because of how tall he was.

His voice was tough and bold, "Thank you. We've been locked here for a few moons now."

"Why?" Flash asked, honestly concerned for once.

"They got mad at us for not doing our duty to save others. We were using our might and fame to get others to do things for us instead of helping others," Cobalion said.

"Do you still think that way now?" I growled, moving in the attack position. I didn't want to have to fight another legendary, but if I must…

"No, we've learned our lesson now. We've been tortured, harassed, and abused," Cobalion said looking down at me.

A childish voice came from the other cells, "We just want to go home." It had to be Keldeo.

I let the others free. All of them were black and bruised all over their bodies. Who would do such a thing? Even Terrakion wasn't in the best shape. Chips of rocks were broken off his body. Sadly, between me and Flash, we only had three Oran berries on us. "Here." I laid them all out before them.

Keldeo said, "I don't need any, you take them."

"No Keldeo, you take one," Virizion forced politely.

"No Virizion, you take mine," Terrikon said.

"No Terrikon, take mine," Cobalion stomped his hoof.

"Guys, guys…" I laughed. I split each of them in half to get six half pieces. "Each of us get one half, okay?" I smiled. They all turned and looked at each other, pleased by my decision. After they ate their slices, not all their wounds were healed, but it helped their scratches along their bodies.

"Let's get out of here!" Flash said by the entrance. We headed out together in a line for the exit.

* * *

**Connor's POV**

"Connor, are you ok?" Borealis spoke in a hazy voice. An Oran berry was by my mouth. I quickly grabbed it, looked around, and saw that all the fighting types were destroyed by Borealis' Scald.

"Yep!" I chimed.

"Good. Thank you for being my shield to let me use Calm Mind to get my special attack up," she said, helping me up. I gawked at her, my mouth wide open not knowing what to say. I was just the lure, the bait. Typical.

"You're welcome," I sighed. Then, we headed up the stairs to the next floor, the last one. A medicham and machamp from the beginning were there. Behind them was two rings in glass cases. One was blue, the other was orange.

Machamp furiously ran at us, but with all of Borealis' power ups, he didn't stand a chance and was blasted before he could even hit her. The medicham tried, too, using Psybeam, but it didn't even make her cringe. With another blast, medicham was out, too.

"Borealis, that was beast!" I said, then gave her a high-paw. She smiled back, grabbing the rings. She put them in my bag and grabbed her glasses.

"Thankfully these weren't hurt," she said, dusting them off then put them on her face. She tossed me on her back using her teeth, then we stepped on a portal in the back that led to the entranceway. I jumped off, not seeing Flash or Chleo.

"Do you think they're alright?" Borealis eyes were deeply concern.

"I hope so." I breathed, not know what to think in this dire situation.

My eyes popped. I saw Chleo's tail running pass each other. I was so happy, I licked her forehead. She hugged me, tightly. It was a very human-like thing to do, but I accepted it.

"I'm so glad you guys are ok!" she said, about to cry happiness tears.

I pulled the rings out, saying, "We even got these, too!"

Her eyes dilated, "Wow! You guys are so amazing." She hugged me again.

I looked up to see Borealis talking to some other Pokémon. It was the swords of justice! I didn't even notice! Borealis' shadow towered over me as she grabbed for the two rings we found out of my bag. She said, "We need these to help balance the world."

Cobalion bowed to her, "We are in your debt for saving us, so please take it. We don't want to use others anymore. If we're on the same level, then we won't treat them as badly as we did. Thank you all for saving us." The others bowed after his speech.

Keldeo stood up first saying, "If at any time, you need us, you know where to send a pelipper, Suicune. We're here for you all the way!"

"Thank you, guys, for the help," Borealis said with a nod.

"Bye guys!" Chleo said, waving, then we left off the mountain.

Keldeo came back, running at a steady pace, "Hey guys, you're doing it all wrong!" Keldeo tugged his head underneath his belly, then lifted with his back legs. He rolled down the hill making a ginormous snowball as he went. We all laughed.

* * *

**Chleo's POV**

A dark emptiness betrothed my unconscious. _Where am I?_ "Hello!" I beckoned into the shadows. _Was Arceus going to talk to me or was this a real dream?_ _I didn't know real dreams were a thing. I guess they were for me now._

I saw myself at the beginning of it all in my human body, standing there frightened and shivering to death as to what was happening. I had red, curly hair, bright blue eyes, and freckles covered my body. Arceus stood there, looking up, the lights on his back were glimmering. I collapsed on the floor. My red hair hit the ground first.

I figured this was at the end of our conversation, then I saw Arceus turn black. _What's this?_

It turned into a Zoroark, vanishing in the shadows.

I woke up in a panic. "Arceus isn't real! Who sent me here?!"

* * *

**Chapter End! I loved this chapter. I thought it was very good. I'm not going to make a riddle for this chapter, but if you would like to see more, a have another story called Pokémon Riddles that has nothing but riddles. All original and made by me! :)**

**Also, the election was...terrible. I'm an American and couldn't vote. I'm not 18 yet. It wouldn't have mattered much, but it was ok. Trump won. I didn't want him to win. Or any of them, really, but I can't move somewhere else. I'll just have to hope for the best.**

**Thanks for reading! Review!**


	9. Chapter 8: Silver Lining

**Welcome back guys! Sorry for the late update. I've been very busy with college work to write. **

**Summary: **Chleo is sent to the Pokémon World by Arceus asking her to get his rings back, because he cannot leave his realm. Now, she has stolen the fire ring from Entei, saved a city and they gave her the lightning ring, made a Suicune friend named Borealis, and went to a dojo to rescue the swords of justice. They gave her the fighting ring for her heroic deed. While she was sleeping, she saw Zoroark in her dreams instead of Arceus. Is she just paranoid or is it all fake?

* * *

**Chapter 8: There is Always a Silver Lining**

* * *

**Chleo's PoV**

Sweat poured from my body, covering me in a bath of wet stench above the grassland. Connor was lying next to me, snoring peacefully and curled into a silent, little ball with his tail wrapped around his body. I wanted so badly to shake him awake to tell him about my dream, but I discouraged myself to let him sleep. _What did it all mean? Was my dream a natural nightmare or was Zoroark Arceus? _If Zoroark was Arceus, it would make sense, because Darkrai could take over my dreams to make me do his bidding. But if it was a nightmare, Arceus is still counting on me!

_I am so confused! _

Hours later of debating my ignorance and naïve nature, I still didn't have an answer for my dream. I finally decided to tell everyone about it in the morning when everyone woke. They desired to know, because they were my friends. Friends were family to me.

* * *

A misty fog covered us in the morning like a ship sailing through a bayou. Connor was the first one up. I guess he finally got used to all the routines in Nidoking's Guild. He yawned, "Good morning, Chleo."

"Oh, thank goodness your awake!" I wailed. _Oh crap, I didn't mean to be so loud. _"There's a nightmare I need to tell you about."

"Was it about being a human?" Connor asked.

"No, no, it was about our mission for Arceus! He was really a Zoroark!" I started shaking him. "What if I'm part of some evil scheme for Darkrai or Spiritomb!? I don't want to ruin the world!"

He pushed me off him, then patted my shoulders. "Chleo, I think you're extremely paranoid. This quest has taken a toll on you." He nuzzled into my fur to comfort me. I nuzzled him back on the verge of tears. Maybe it has taken a toll on me, but I was having so much fun.

"May I tell you a story of the time I caught my sister's tail on fire?" Connor started. I nodded. He turned to the grassland. "It all started with my father teaching me to blow flames, before he abandoned us, of course."

"Your parents abandoned you?" I was shocked.

"Yes, in time me and my sisters learned to live without them in the wild, then we went our separate ways. He said to me, in a deep, calm voice, 'You need to let the flames burst from inside you, son, to protect your sisters.' I tried day and night to shoot flames, and when I finally did, it was at night. We all shared the same room. I caught my sister's tail on fire and almost burnt down our whole house! If it wasn't for our parents putting out the flames, I'm not sure what would happen. Months after that, I didn't want to use my flames, afraid that I might hurt someone else. I finally learned how to use my flames when I started being bullied by Gabite. The flames just boiled inside me. If it wasn't for my flames, I never would've meet you, because I would've been kicked out of Nidoking's Guild long ago."

"How does this help with the nightmare?" I questioned. Maybe I was retarded, but I didn't understand.

He sighed, standing up, and looked me in the eyes, "Chleo, I'm saying, don't give up on what we've started because of paranoia. I could be a higher-level Pokémon if I didn't get paranoid of my flames."

"Ohh, okay. Okay… I won't worry about the dream. It was only a dream, right?" I half-smiled. Though, he was right. Or I hoped so.

"Right, cutie," he smiled, then patted the fluff on the top on my head. "Now, how should we wake the others?"

"Um, I'll get Borealis and you can wake up Flash, ok?" I woofed.

"Oh, I see how it is, you get the laid back one, and I get the one that might bite off my head!" he snapped.

I burst out in laughter. "Yes."

When I walked toward Borealis, the wind from her nostrils blew me off my feet. I screamed in horrified terror. My head had stricken a tree with a pounding, dizzy sensation afterward. Then, Borealis rolled over onto her side and a tree came crashing down at me. Holding my aching head, I lucky dodged out of the way. This was definitely harder than I could imagine.

An idea came to my head. I started blowing smoldering flames on Borealis' belly to try to tickle her awake. When she woke up, she almost stomped on me. Her paws were the size of my entire body! A bursting howl shattered my ears.

She shook her body like a wet dog to find her glasses in her purple mane. "Oh, good morning," she said, looking down at me.

I was shaking. "Good morning."

Connor and, the not so speedy, Flash walked through the mist. Connor's fur was electrified like a fluffy cat. "You make an absolute beautiful Purugly," I giggled.

"Do not!" He tried to shake his fur into place, but it puffed back into its electrified state. "Oh, great!" he moaned. His face was so swelled, his emerald eyes were hidden deep beneath his fur.

Flashed rolled his eyes. "So, what crazy mission are we heading on today? A bug's nest? An underwater wonderland? A spooky cavern?"

Borealis answered, "It's fifteen miles west from here called Rooftop Forest. It is said that it treads for miles. Travelers from all around the world try to find the secret of life there. I know its secret, though."

My eyes widened four times, "What's that? That sounds amazing! I always wondered the secret to life."

"There is no secret, sweetcakes," Flashed huffed bluntly. "We live, give birth, then die."

"Well, aren't you a buzzkill?" I said. My tails sassily held themselves higher than a kite.

Borealis spoke again, except a little displeased tone, "The secret is Xernas. She holds the secret."

"Secret? That's no secret. That's who has the secret," Connor said.

"Whoever said I was going to give _you_ the secret? I want you to find out for yourself," Borealis persuaded.

"Aww!" I moaned. "But okay."

* * *

**Borealis' PoV**

Chleo was the prophet heard about in legends. I heard about a Pokémon who stood up to the legendries in the modern world in many books and stories. One single Pokémon held the world on their shoulders to help Arceus restore order. Was it true that Chleo was this Pokémon? She seemed, I don't know, childish, naïve, and not a leader to lead us to salvation.

I always believed in Arceus, but I also believed that he lost hope in us and went to another realm beyond my comprehension. I wondered what Dialga and Palkia will say when I tell them their creator has been alive all these years. I wondered where they were now. Life turned and weaved us in mysterious ways.

"We're getting close," I said to others by my feet.

Once we trotted closer and closer to the mountain top, I knew something had drastically changed. There were 24 inch stumps on the ground where the trees were chopped. All the rooftops were gone. Mankeys, Furrets, and all the other lively Pokémon disappeared from the forest. All there was now was grassland fields and hay mounds where there once was life blossoming. We were on the outskirts of town, so thank Arceus that nobody saw us.

"What happened to this place?" Connor asked.

I glanced down to see Chleo eyes wider than mine where. Did she know something we didn't? I began, "Rooftop Village is gone."

"Those bastard humans did this," Flash said with a glare.

"You think so?" Connor said, displeased. "I never thought humans were bad."

"Heh, then you've never met one," Flash taunted his comrade.

"Shut up, Flash, you don't know anything!" Chleo budded.

I didn't know what to think. I trusted the humans. They made me know what love and compassion was like; what it was like to love knowledge and reading. "Why would they do this?" I howl aggravated and confused. "C'mon guys, we need to find Xernas. Stay close to me."

I led the others pass the human village across the ridge. On the other side, a small part of the forest remained. There wasn't any Pokémon there. As I walked closer and closer, I heard Xernas underneath a small shelter. I prodded in the leaves to get her attention. She came out of her hideaway, saying, "Suicune, how have you been?" A small sniffle and whimper came from sad, blue face. Her antlers were bluer than the ocean.

"How can we help you?" Chleo asked.

Xernas bent herself next to her tiny body. "I tried to fight them. They locked me up for years and years before I finally escape. When I came home, there was no home to come back to. There is no hope left for me, so I ran, ran, and ran all around the globe to find a new forest, but there's not anything left…"

"Ole, stop your whining!" Flash stared. "We just have to show the humans that you're the boss again."

A scary, brittle, wild look came from her eyes, "No! Please, no! I don't want to get imprisoned again. Even with my best friend being imprisoned, I can't bear being locked up again! I won't do it! I can't!"

"Who is your friend?" Chleo asked.

"She's talking about the guardian of the forest. Celebi…" I said, while taking a step forward. Rage and vexation took ahold of my body. A puff of stream riddled from my body's nostrils.

"How could the humans take Celebi." Connor questioned. "She can change time, so can't she go back before they kidnapped her?"

"She doesn't like starting paradoxes for any reason, so she doesn't go back in time to a place she's already been," Xernas whimper. "I wish this never happened! I hate humans!"

I turned to my comrades, saying with my head bowed, "Come on guys, we need to find celebi." Reluctantly, they followed me out of the forest, bickering along the path.

"Where the heck are we supposed to find celebi, anyways?" Flash retorted.

I glared, "I don't know, but once I find her, I'm going back in time to fix this!"

* * *

**Chleo's PoV**

We did this. I did this. My nails clawed the ground as I walked in aggravation about the situation. Deforestation caused the destruction of a beautiful, holy forest. We needed to stop this. I needed to stop this.

We followed Borealis to the forest's end. A village filled with noisy cars; people roamed the streets. A gym was located on the other side of town in the distance. There were a million stores and tons of people. The odd thing was there wasn't any Pokémon anywhere in the city.

My eyes dilated, realizing this was Castelia City in Unova. Why was Xernas here? Why wasn't she in Kalos? What time is this place? I had so many questions that I knew what I had to do. I took the Borealis' lead. "You guys need to stay here. I have a plan."

"You're going to get yourself killed, pipsqueak," Flash retorted.

"HEY, WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT!" I shouted louder than a bass cannon.

"Calm down, sheesh, stop being so uptight," Flash said. "What is your plan?"

I grabbed some of Borealis' fur, leaves, twigs, and with some fine toning, I made a necklace with the fire ring attached. I put it around my neck, saying, "Now it looks like I have an owner in the city."

"Wouldn't they try to find your owner?" Connor questioned.

"Humans don't pay enough attention to care, hopefully," I said sheepishly.

I turned around to see Flash with the electric ring tied around his neck. "I'm coming with you." He had a dead look in his eye.

"You not being serious, right?" Connor laughed. "You hate humans more than anyone."

"Chleo needs our help. I may pick on you guys, but I still don't want you to get hurt," he said.

"Aww, aren't you being sweet for once in your life," Borealis smiled.

"Hush it. You can't come with us, buttercup," he snickered.

"Why not? Humans love me!"

"Loved, you mean?" he breathed.

"A lot has changed in the past thousand years, borealis," Connor said with the fighting ring around his neck. He huffed like he had an elephant on his stomach. "Don't these collars choke you guys?"

I helped him with his collar, then we were off to find the lab where Celebi was kidnapped.

"Hotshot, you would get kidnapped just like Xernas and Celebi did," Flash bickered to Borealis.

Borealis huffed, annoyed, "Fine."

To save the future, first I needed to save the past.

* * *

**Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm sorry it was all talking, but I didn't know how to continue the story without talking, so I tried to make the speech the enjoyable part. If you have any ideas you want me to add to this story, review or PM me anytime. If I have any mistakes, please tell me! I want to get better, too! **

**I was asked earlier, "Is Chleo a human from our world or a human with the Pokémon world." The answer is from the Pokémon World. She makes references to our world, but they could have them in their world, too. This is mainly because I want to make a side-story to this one about her life before she was turned into a Vulpix. **


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